The Birth of the Unconquered
by veivei
Summary: When Namie leaves to have an abortion, Izaya goes mad. The lenghts he will go to ensure his child's survival are quite extreme. Multiple personalities and general insanity. Also, a Soviet tank. Disturbing later on. Complete.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: An old fic from the DRRR Kink Meme.

* * *

It was the middle of the night. The view of Shinjuku outside the panoramic window in Izaya's office was as breathtaking as ever, the lights of the city down below the only illumination in the room.

The computers were off for once, all of them, including the servers in the rack cabinet up on the mezzanine floor. The only sounds left in the office after their constant hum was gone were Izaya's breathing and the crack of his sanity snapping like a crushed twig.

He smiled, admiring the new order forming in his mind.

Five weeks later he was getting ready for Namie's return.

He had submerged the Dullahan's head in hydrochloric acid in the evening. It had been steadily dissolving, its pretty features disfiguring into an ugly shapeless goo with the whiteness of bones showing through and as steadily growing back in an endlessly persistent way. It was quite a sight.

He spent the night looking at it.

"Where has my acid gone?" He asked the head in the morning, removing it from the container that was remarkably dried down. "Have you consumed it? Were you hungry? Maybe I should have fed you all along."

He wrapped the head in bandages to cover up its monstrous injuries it hadn't regenerated from fully yet and threw it into a plastic bag before heading towards the door.

The cage was there when he opened it.

So it was actually true one could order a dog on the Internet and have it delivered by mail the following day, all thirsty and pitiful and thankfully alive. He knelt down to let it out of the cage.

It was a basset hound, too long ears sweeping the floor and a cool nose forcing its way into his hands. Then it proceeded to sniff the head in the plastic bag.

Izaya wondered briefly what would have happened if the dog ate it. It would have probably gotten stuck inside it, its gastric acid battling with the Dullahan's supernatural perseverance forever. Chopped up into pieces, it tended to regain its original form after a while so it would have probably made the poor dog explode eventually, too. An angel of death indeed.

And a fitting punishment for Namie. An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. And a human being ripped to shreds for a human being ripped to shreds.

"We'll go for a walk." Izaya informed the dog before taking a hold of its leash and dragging it to the elevator.

It was an office building. With lower floors occupied by respectable enterprises and filled with salarymen from 9 to 5. The woman in an impeccable suit Izaya encountered in the elevator distanced herself from him and his dog and his plastic bag that was dripping some dark red liquid onto the floor as much as she physically could before escaping three floors too early.

Right after she got off Izaya's newly acquired dog decided to pee in the corner of the elevator thus marking it as his. Such possessiveness. It reminded Izaya of Shizu-chan, for some reason.

He pulled on the leash forcefully to remove the dog from the elevator when they reached the ground floor.

"I believe no animals are..." A woman stood up from behind the counter in the hall and started walking towards him. "Oh, it's you, Orihara-san."

He smiled at her before leaving the building, the basset hound barely keeping up on its short legs.

"Say, dog, do you have a name? Do you want to have a name? Are you okay with Old Church Slavonic?"

The dog didn't seem to have an opinion.

"Venceslav." Izaya announced happily. "You write it…" He produced a piece of paper and a pen." ...Вѧщєславъ. Like that. Though I guess you don't care." He sighed. "We're going to Ikebukuro. There is a certain sushi shop there that will gladly accept both you and this head. And maybe even myself. Russians can make alcohol from anything. And then they come to Japan and bring this attitude with them only to exercise it on sushi. Fusion cuisine all the way."


	2. Chapter 2

"Since when do you smoke?"

"Oh, you can talk?" Izaya looked down at the basset hound questioningly.

No, it didn't seem to have spoken, actually. He looked back up only to be faced with a pair of furious eyes hidden behind blue-tinted glasses.

Ah right, he was in Ikebukuro, leaning back against the wall of Russia Sushi next to the front door waiting for it to open for business, the plastic bag with the head in his hand, thus nonchalantly putting himself on display right in the middle of Shizu-chan's turf.

"Since I can't tell what's going on when I'm not." Izaya admitted truthfully before taking a deep puff and letting the smoke out through his nose.

Shizuo's nostrils twitched, picking up on the smell of vanilla from his cigarette.

Izaya's gaze moved to the stop sign crushed in Shizuo's fist. Venceslav got up, approached it, sniffed at it and proceeded to pee on its pole and over Shizuo's shoes.

What does it mean when first thing in the morning your dog commits suicide, Izaya wondered.

The basset hound flew through the air, its ears flapping like wings, before landing several feet away, picking itself up from the ground, remarkably unscathed, and running away.

Shizuo's free hand grabbed Izaya's coat under his neck.

A thin trail of vanilla-scented smoke was blown out right into Shizuo's face.

Even upon closer inspection, Shizuo couldn't wrap his mind around what Izaya was wearing. It seemed he had at least five of his trademark parkas and coats layered on him, making him look several sizes bigger than he really was, like a fur fringed ball that was soft to the touch, his head small and insignificant on top of all that.

"I told you to stay out of Ikebukuro." Shizuo growled the usual gambit, overlooking Izaya's fashion sense having gone haywire.

"A million times. Have I ever listened?" Izaya replied in kind, throwing his cigarette out and wrapping his hand around Shizuo's wrist.

"I thought you did, the past few weeks."

"I was just busy thinking my life over. And I realized things, Shizu-chan."

"I'm not interested." Shizuo threw the stop sign away and poised his fist for a punch instead. The stupid flea stilled in his grasp, not even taking his knife out.

"I love you, Shizu-chan." Izaya's other hand, while still holding the plastic bag with the ruined Dullahan's head inside, went up to rest at the back of Shizuo's neck. He strained his neck up to bestow a vanilla-scented kiss upon Shizuo's closed lips, sniffing at his cologne while he was close.

"What's wrong with you, flea?" Shizuo dropped him immediately as if he'd been burned and started wiping his mouth clean vigorously with the back of his hand. He realized with a start that his anger had dissipated in the very strangeness of the situation. Ever since their first meeting, his interactions with Izaya had been simplified to a series of repeated motions with foreseeable outcomes. This was not one of them, though.

"I fell out of love with humanity." Izaya confessed sadly. "But! I've discovered a myriad new ways to amuse myself." He lit back up instantly.

He stretched out his hand, holding the bag in front of Shizuo's face. It only now caught Shizuo's attention. A round shape messily wrapped in bandages soaked through with dark red liquid was visible through the semi-transparent plastic.

"What's that?" Shizuo leaned in for a closer look. He touched the semi-soft structure through the plastic with his fingertips.

He would have screamed in horror if he wasn't the tough man he was upon realizing that there were strands of soaked red hair escaping the bandages thus making it apparent the thing was actually a human head.

"What is this, flea?!"

"A pufferfish. Let's ask Dennis to make fugu sashi and play Japanese Roulette at Russia Sushi!"

The pun seemed to be lost on Shizuo's pea sized brain. He proceeded to rip the bag out of Izaya's hand and take the head out by its hair to examine it more closely.

"It's a human head."

"Ha ha, that's a good joke, Shizu-chan, but no, it's not. Don't you feel how it's warm to the touch? That would have been impossible with a chopped off human head. It's just a toy. Please give it back to me, it was quite pricey. It's imported from a faraway country through shady acquaintances and quite sought-after. Still, I wanted to give it to Simon as a gift."

"Whatever." Shizuo dropped the head back into the plastic bag and threw it at Izaya's feet. "I need to go to work. That's the only reason I let you be. Don't ever come here again!" He left with that, turning around hastily to hide the blush that crept up his cheeks at the faint vanilla taste he still felt while inadvertently licking his lips.

The basset hound appeared as soon as Shizuo was gone, seemingly elated to be back by Izaya's side, the way no human had ever been. Izaya knelt down and patted its warm head.

"I guess it was a good idea to switch from humans to beasts." He confessed with a broken smile, looking up at Shizuo's retreating form. "You're so much more forgiving."

* * *

"I want him to lock the door first. Has he locked the door?" Izaya demanded, looking at Simon over his shoulder suspiciously.

"He did. Calm down. What is it you've brought, Izaya-kun?" Dennis asked patiently.

Simon, having locked the restaurant's door from the inside, approached the counter as well with a displeased expression on his face.

"Can you put an empty plate here? It'll make a mess of your countertop otherwise." Izaya pointed out, picking the plastic bag up. Dennis slid a plate under it.

Izaya shook the contents of the bag out and a red-headed human head wrapped up in dirty bandages landed on the plate with a splash of bloody liquid.

"It's a chopped off human head." Dennis observed calmly after a moment of looking at it, assessing the damage visible through the loosening bandages. It seemed to have had spent quite a while submerged in acid, too.

"I'd like you to cook it." Izaya said.

 _"A service of this kind won't be cheap."_ Dennis switched to Russian, leaning down to look at the head more closely. There was something weird about it. _"And where is the rest of the body? Were you the one to kill that person, Izaya?"_

All of a sudden, Simon looked much more interested in the situation.

 _"And how much would it cost for you not to ask questions?"_

Izaya accepted the price without as much as batting an eyelash despite several zeros being in it.

"What is it you'd like me to cook then?"

"Well, I was thinking about fugu sashi earlier but I guess..." Izaya mused. "Can some parts go into sushi?" He asked, sliding the plate towards Dennis.

"With the right kind of approach, anything can go into whatever you want."

"Do it then."

Dennis took the plate delicately and disappeared inside the kitchen, taking a large knife with him.

 _"Say, have you gone mad, Izaya?"_ Simon asked conversationally in Russian, leaning against the counter by Izaya's side.

 _"What makes you think that?"_ Izaya looked up at him curiously.

 _"It's just a general feeling."_ Simon said good-naturedly. He seemed pretty happy for some reason as if Izaya going insane was actually good news.

 _"My actions seem perfectly reasonable to me."_ Izaya shrugged.

An hour later, a pretty normal-looking sushi set was presented to Izaya in a take-out box. Another box housed the other remnants of the head. He accepted both in a Russia Sushi themed paper bag with a smile.

"You're the best cook ever." He praised Dennis before turning around to leave the place.

 _"Even as I chopped it up into pieces, this head was still alive."_ Dennis remarked when Izaya left. _"Look."_ He took a small plate with a piece of raw meat on it from under the counter and slid it towards Simon.

 _"Mmmm... it is warm and... pulsating."_

They both contemplated the piece of meat in silence for a while.

 _"Is it possible that Izaya started dabbling in magic?"_ Dennis wondered before crossing himself in quick moves.

 _"I'd say it's quite probable."_

They shared nods and looks full of understanding before opening the shop up for the day.


	3. Chapter 3

Izaya was ringing the doorbell at his office's door repeatedly, smiling into the video camera above it. The door was finally opened for him from the inside after a long wait.

"Stop doing that. You could have opened the door yourself and entered without bothering me." Namie complained, turning on her heels to walk back into the office without sparing him a single glance.

Venceslav followed her as soon as Izaya let go of his leash, his tail wagging in the air happily. She jumped when his cool nose touched her leg through the stocking.

"Why is a dog here?" She turned around to look at Izaya accusingly but faltered upon seeing the layers of clothing covering his body. "What happened to you?"

"I should probably ask you the same question. What happened to you, Namie?" He approached her and forced the Russia Sushi bag into her hand. "Here, I've brought a welcome home meal for you. It's been how long since you'd left?"

"Five weeks." She supplied the information even though she doubted he had really forgotten. No matter how insignificant she might have been to him, he still remembered things about everyone.

"So?" Red eyes looked her in the eye, demanding answers.

After a while of staring at them, the dog proceeded into the apartment, ignored by both.

"Take off these ridiculous clothes and then we'll talk. And I'm in no mood for raw fish." She said before walking away and into the kitchen to dump the sushi take out into the sink. The basset hound joined her in the kitchen, looking up at her with pleading eyes. "I'm not feeding you, you filthy beast." She growled at it.

When she came back into the office, Izaya was sitting in his chair without all the jackets and coats on him and looked fairly normal. She stood in front of him, the expanse of his desk putting the familiar distance between them.

"Why were you wearing these clothes?" She asked.

"While you were gone I kept on adding more and more things as days went by. I guess I wanted to feel like you." He leaned on the desk and smiled at her. "Since you didn't want it, I thought maybe I could take over somehow."

"Cut that nonsense." She snorted.

"I told you before you left that I didn't want it to die."

"Of course you didn't. It wasn't your life getting utterly ruined."

"So I guess you're happy now?" He asked, putting the chair into spinning motion with a move of his foot and rotating away from her to face the panoramic window behind his desk instead. She was left with a view of the back of his chair.

"It was difficult." She confessed, glad for not seeing his face.

"What do you mean: difficult?" He asked in an indifferent voice, lighting up a cigarette. A thin trail of vanilla-scented smoke reached her nostrils. He hadn't been smoking back when she'd been leaving. "You hesitated for a second before signing the papers? You felt bad about having to spread your legs for this? You thought 'Maybe it was going to have pretty red eyes like him except it won't, because I will kill it before it's born'?" He turned the chair a little bit back towards her and looked at her over his shoulder, his eyes piercing her right through.

It was not a very smart move for her to come back and he was astonished she had made this kind of a mistake because the sushi was waiting for her already and she was going to die for what she'd done.

"You think I would have come back at all if I actually went through with it?"

"Of course." He shrugged. "You're a terrible person like that and who else will pay you that well?"

"I wouldn't have. I'm only back because I decided not to do this. Here." She put a thin pale pink folder down on the desk. "I'm still pregnant."


	4. Chapter 4

"It has fingers." Izaya pointed out, looking at an ultrasound photo in the light coming from the panoramic window, still turned back from the desk with his chair.

"Where's the Dullahan's head?" Namie demanded, kicking the dog so it would stop licking her shoes. "I've noticed it's no longer where it used to be and I couldn't find it anywhere."

"It'll be back." Izaya shrugged. "Say, do I have to reduce your work-time now that you're pregnant? That's a bit unfortunate considering how much catching up there is to do." He sighed. "I haven't really been working while you've been gone to get rid of my firstborn. It left a very bad taste in my mouth somehow so I pretty much sulked throughout these five weeks since I hoped you would be back to take care of everything anyway to repent."

"I hate you, too." Namie muttered under her breath.

"Bring that sushi set here. It's a special order. I hope you haven't thrown it out?" He rotated the chair to face the desk again and put the photo down. "I'm glad she hasn't slaughtered you." He said softly to the blurry shape when Namie left for the kitchen. "Hang on in there. It won't be that long."

Namie came back with the Russia Sushi paper bag, Venceslav following her, looking up at the food in her hand hungrily.

"Give Venceslav something to eat." Izaya commanded. "Do you want him to starve?"

Actually, that was just what Namie wanted even though she only had to put up with the dog for around an hour so far.

Izaya removed the twin take-out boxes from the paper bag, put them on his desk and opened them. One housed a pretty ordinary-looking sushi set, if not for the wrong color and texture of the meat on the nigiri. The other was just bloody remnants: red hair, eyeballs, teeth and crushed bones splattered with blood.

He looked up when Namie fainted upon seeing it, her body slumping down to the floor with a thud and staying there, unconscious.

Izaya poked the warm remnants with his finger and smiled. Venceslav was salivating at their smell, pacing around the desk anxiously, his tail hitting the floor rhythmically.

"It seems your welcome home meal wasn't to your liking after all." Izaya sighed, getting up from his chair and kneeling down at Namie's side. He shook her lightly but it didn't make her wake up. "I'll send it over to your brother then."

He took out his phone and called Celty to ask for a delivery.

"Also, I need Shinra's help." He added while on the line with her. "My secretary doesn't feel so well. So it'd be great if you could bring him here while you're at it." He said before hanging up.

He found some foie gras in the fridge and fed it to the dog out of his hand while waiting for Celty to arrive.

"So how do you like my bitch?" He asked conversationally, motioning towards Namie with a move of his head. "I know, she's despicable." He agreed with the dog's silent assessment. "But so am I." 


	5. Chapter 5

"Please deliver this under the address here." Izaya put the Russia Sushi paper bag and a piece of paper with the address in Celty's hands. "The recipient is Yagiri Seiji. Avoid his girlfriend, Harima Mika, the girl with the face that looks like your head's, at all costs. It's meant for him not for her."

"Is this sushi?" Celty typed on her smartphone after putting the bag at her feet.

"Roughly speaking, yes." He nodded.

"I have a feeling there's something fishy about this request." Celty typed and showed the message to Shinra.

"Go figure. Izaya-kun's business has always been like that." Shinra smiled at her encouragingly, ignoring her gut feeling. "Try to be back for dinner, Celty!" He called after her when she turned around to leave Izaya's office. She waved to him. "So, you've got yourself a dog, Izaya-kun?" Shinra kneeled down to pat Venceslav's head. "I've never thought you'd want a basset hound of all dogs. It's totally not your style."

"I think it's just fine. Imagine that the first thing it did upon meeting Shizu-chan was peeing on his shoes. We seem to have a similar mindset." Izaya pointed out merrily.

"So where's your secretary?" Shinra straightened up and asked. "What happened?"

"She fainted... upon seeing some pretty gory materials. One needs to build up some resistance for such things in our line of work, it's the same as with you doctors, essentially." He sighed. "But she passed out and didn't wake up since." Izaya stopped over Namie's body, still lying on the floor in front of his desk, and nudged it with the tip of his shoe.

"You could have moved her to a bed." Shinra kneeled down by her side and took hold of her wrist.

"You don't understand what kind of a woman she is. She would have made a ruckus upon waking up in my bed."

"There's nothing particularly wrong with her, she should wake up shortly." Shinra spoke softly after a while of examining her. "Although..."

"I'd like her to wake up really soon. I need her to do her work."

"...I think she's pregnant."

"Sure, 13th week. Here." Izaya took the ultrasound photos from the desk and presented them to Shinra. "Pretty, isn't it?"

Shinra stood up, accepted the photos and looked through them with professional interest. He was a bit taken aback by the self-satisfied smile on Izaya's face, though.

"Izaya-kun, you don't by any chance happen to mean she's actually pregnant with your child?" He asked hesitantly, glancing down to the unconscious woman abandoned on the floor in the middle of the room in an uncomfortable position.

"She is, as far I know." Izaya confirmed, his smile growing. "Of course, there's no way to be 100% sure until it's actually born and a test can be run. But I feel a connection with it already."

"Uhm... But you've just said she would've made a ruckus if she woke up in your bed."

"We did it on the desk."

"I wasn't asking for details, Izaya-kun!"

"Then what did you want to know? Why I'm not fawning over her? She doesn't deserve that." Izaya stated coldly, walking up behind his desk and sitting down in his chair. "As soon as she got to know she demanded a five week long leave and went somewhere to have an abortion which is ridiculous in and of itself because it doesn't even take nowhere near that long. And, actually, I am fawning over her. That's why you're here. But my benevolence has its limits."

"Has her... decision hurt you?" Shinra asked softly.

"Does it matter if she didn't go through with it in the end?" Izaya asked indifferently, leaning back in his chair. "But, I will not let her have it once it's born. Not even if I have to kill her." He declared.

A soft moan escaping Namie's lips attracted Shinra's attention and he hurried back to her side.

"But something has indeed occurred to me when she was gone." Izaya continued talking, unabashed and not particularly interested in Namie waking up. "I realized I was no longer universally amused by human actions. The way I loved humans all these years, my love wasn't there anymore. I guess it is a typical change of mindset once you get something you'd like to protect in a world where everyone is out to get it. When you look at other humans like that, all they deserve is hate."

Neither Shinra nor Namie were paying any attention to him, discussing her medical condition between the two of them.

Venceslav was staring at him patiently, though, and when he was done talking, came closer to lick his shoes.

"Yagiri-san, I'll be leaving for today." Izaya informed, getting up from his chair. "Have fun working overtime to make up for your unprofessional fainting!" He took the leash out of his pocket and attached it to the basset hound's collar before heading towards the door. "Bye, Shinra-kun!"

"What do you mean working over-time?" Shinra protested. "She deserves a leave for the day!"

But the door had already closed behind Izaya and the dog.


	6. Chapter 6

"Sorry, guys, I think it's time for me to head to my date." Aoba announced, looking at the time on his phone. "See you tomorrow!" He waved to his fellow members of Blue Squares with a smile, stuffing the shark mask into the pocket of his coat. "Mikado will probably drop by in the evening. If he asks about me, you know what to tell him."

"Ne, why is Kuronuma's girlfriend *so* important he has to forgo gang business for her at a time like this?" One of the Blue Squares members asked the others, disgruntled.

"You know nothing, it seems. It should probably stay this way, too."

"But why? He should know! Kuronuma's so wicked." Another boy interjected. "This 'girlfriend' of his." He made the quotation marks in the air with his fingers. "Is actually that all-powerful information broker from Shinjuku, Orihara Izaya."

"How? Isn't that person a guy?"

"Kuronuma seduced him to backstab him later on."

"You know, when you're like him and essentially look like a chick anyway, that's probably the best use he can make of himself, since he can't fight to save his life."

They shared a mocking laugh that made them feel better and smarter even while they were all aware deep down they dangled in Aoba's grasp like little marionettes.

"But you mean they're actually doing stuff together? Like kissing or holding hands or...? That's so gross."

Aoba went on his merry way towards the train station, smiling his good-natured smile at other passersby. He traveled back to Raira and arrived in front of the school gate right at the time when the afternoon classes ended, making it seem as if he were just leaving school, thus hiding the fact that he'd actually left as soon as the lunch break had started.

He was waiting for Izaya impatiently, looking around anxiously for Mikado or Anri. He preferred not to let them know he was hanging out with the informant.

He felt something touch his leg and looked down at the basset hound who'd appeared out of nowhere right at his feet and had started licking his shoes.

Aoba smiled at it. Feeling his gaze on itself, the dog visibly trembled all of a sudden and distanced itself with its tail curled between its legs in apology.

"Venceslav doesn't like you." Izaya pointed out from behind his back, disappointment apparent in his voice.

"It's your dog?" Aoba asked, turning around. "I never knew you had one, Orihara-san..."

"Here." A giant plushie shark was forced into Aoba's arms. "I've brought you a present."

"Eh... I guess, that's very nice of you." Aoba hugged the monstrous plushie close to him and smiled. "I'd like to go before my teachers see me hang out with an adult man, though."

"And why would that concern them? I could be your big brother." Izaya pointed out, wrapping his arm around Aoba's waist in a decidedly unbrotherly way.

Four weeks into their relationship, Aoba would have amassed a pretty impressive collection of plushie sharks if he weren't throwing these out on his way home. He realized upon closer inspection Izaya was very weird and didn't really do anything productive and generally felt tricked into giving up his innocence for nothing even though he'd initially felt very smug about encountering him in the Sunshine City aquarium and successfully befriending him this time around.

"Are we going to your place?" Aoba asked, looking over his shoulder at the dog who was following them at a safe distance.

"My place is off-limits, my secretary is back from her leave." Izaya said. "I left her there to work over-time to make up for the lost time."

"So cruel, Orihara-san." Aoba sighed.

"We could go to yours."

"No!" Aoba protested vigorously, thinking about his mother and what a disaster that would have been if she happened to come back home early.

"Then, I guess, we'll drop by my old place in Ikebukuro." Izaya produced a bunch of keys from his coat's pocket and looked through them. "How was your day, Aoba-kun?" He asked good-naturedly, steering the two of them into a turn.

"Okay, I guess. I helped Kururi-chan out in math class." Aoba volunteered the information hoping to get on Izaya's good side. Izaya didn't seem to care though.

"I was quite industrious myself, all things considered." He said, smiling to himself.

Aoba wondered what he'd been doing. Helping Kida out in reestablishing Yellow Scarves? Some business with the yakuza? Selling information on their opponents to important politicians?

"It's here." Izaya pulled Aoba into the hall of a quite moderate-looking apartment building. "I used to live here back in high school, that's why it's so close to Raira." He explained.

Aoba wondered why they had never used this place before then instead of traveling all the way to Shinjuku.

"I held onto this place to use it as a storage space. So don't expect some particularly lush interior." Izaya warned him, leading the way up to the third floor and opening the door to an apartment at the end of a long narrow hallway with the key he'd retrieved earlier. "This brings back memories." He sighed, entering the place and taking a deep breath of the dust-filled air.

Aoba sneezed behind his back. Venceslav didn't seem too happy either, sneaking inside between their legs.

"What is in these boxes?" Aoba asked in mild astonishment from behind the plushie shark in his arms upon realizing the apartment was filled to the brim with wooden boxes, only leaving a single narrow passageway between them.

Izaya closed the door behind them and locked it.

"That's besides the point, don't you think, Aoba-kun?" He asked, turning around and opening his pants under his open coat.

Aoba swallowed, thinking how he would've liked to know very much.

"I can't do this with this dog here." He complained, pointing to Venceslav with his finger. The gesture made the dog curl into a ball of fear.

Izaya pushed the dog out of the apartment door with a sigh, hoping it was going to wait for him outside.

Aoba was already down on his knees when he came back, the plushie shark discarded on the side. He was quite a cute boy, even though it was somewhat disturbing how he didn't really look older than thirteen and how badly he was messed up by years of serving as Izumii Ran's punching bag. He was also obviously plotting something. Still, Izaya enjoyed playing around with him these past few weeks quite a bit.

His fun was spoiled this time around though by an urgent beeping of his phone announcing a new message.

"Can't you just ignore it?" Aoba whined.

It was too interesting to ignore though. A message from Celty.

"I've made your delivery. The boy, Yagiri Seiji, jumped out of a window upon opening the second box."

"Oh my..." Izaya sighed, zipping his pants back up.

Aoba stared at him questioningly before slumping down against the wall of wooden boxes with a scowl, taking the plushie shark up from the floor and hugging it to his chest.

"Have you saved him?" Izaya typed the response.

"I was too shocked myself when I realized that it was *my missing head*. Turned into a sushi set !"

Izaya dialed Celty's number. A silence interrupted by the wail of an ambulance siren greeted him at the other end of the call.

"It will regenerate itself." He spoke up, catching Aoba's attention immediately. It was the very first time Izaya seemed to be doing some kind of business right in front of him and Aoba was quite excited to be able to overhear the conversation. "Give it a few days and it'll be as good as new, I've checked. You can have it then. I don't care. I have to admit I've taken hold of it some time ago and I've held onto it quite deliberately but I have no further uses for it. As for sending it to that boy in such a state… It was a personal grudge of mine against my secretary, something your boyfriend can explain to you. Don't be angry at me. I hope we can continue doing business together..." There was something different about the silence at the other end of the line all of a sudden. Izaya looked at his phone questioningly and with the weird feeling only growing stronger, hang up.

"Celty?" He sent a message to her.

No answer came.

Aoba attempted to piece together something that roughly made sense out of Izaya's earlier words but he wasn't succeeding at all.

"Check on Seiji. Something happened to him." Izaya texted Namie.

"It seems I've just messed up the lives of quite a few people with a box of take-out sushi." Izaya laughed. "How awesome is that?" He asked no one in particular before pocketing his phone. "In an act of benevolence inspired by this sheer awesomeness of mine, I'll show you what's inside the boxes, Aoba-kun." He offered.

Aoba stood up from the floor hesitantly, still holding onto the plushie shark.

"Come on." Izaya sneaked his hand between the boxes to turn the lights on and urged him on further inside the apartment that was pretty much reduced to a single narrow passageway.

He stopped and stood on his toes near its end and pulled down a thick manila folder from the top of the boxes. A cloud of dust rose into the air from it when he opened it. Aoba sneezed again.

"T-80UD, a late eighties Ukrainian variation of the Soviet T-80. Have you played with toy tanks as a kid, Aoba-kun?" Izaya asked, taking a big photo out of the folder, his eyes sparkling with excitement, and presenting it to the boy. "I enjoyed that very much myself. That's why I've bought myself a real one."

Aoba's eyes widened.

"You don't mean there's a *tank* in pieces here?" He asked incredulously.

"That's just what I mean, Aoba-kun." Izaya confirmed with a wide smile. "Though in case you'd like to steal it, not all of it is here, obviously."


	7. Chapter 7

"Why are you still here?!" Shizuo growled upon encountering Izaya on his way back from work in the exact same spot where he'd left him in the morning, minus the excess clothes and the unnerving dog.

"I've been waiting for you." Izaya answered as if it was the most natural thing for him to do. "I spent all day here waiting for you."

That was quite obviously a blatant lie though he doubted Shizuo could tell. In fact, he had only reached Russia Sushi again about half an hour ago and dropped by for a quick visit to praise the incredible impression their sushi had made before going out and leaning against the wall next to the door just like in the morning.

"No fighting here. Fighting bad." Simon spoke up in their direction while giving out leaflets on the street in front of the shop.

"Haven't I told you to get lost?" Shizuo walked up to Izaya but kept his hands to himself for now, wary of Simon's presence.

"But I changed, Shizu-chan."

"I don't care."

"Look at me again, the way you did back in high school when we faced each other for the very first time." Izaya's hands reached up to land on Shizuo's shoulders. "A scrawny kid in a wrong school uniform who into his second week of high school had already gotten two street gangs to pursue you just to see if you could really fight as well as he'd heard and had essentially let you know about it as if he had a death wish, smirking at you in a way that instantly set you on edge, even while he was right at Shinra-kun's side, that is right where you belonged... After all, Shinra-kun was your only friend at the school who was not afraid of you and would still hang out with you despite what you could do. So you thought it was a good idea to just punch him without further introductions now that he was within reach. But he moved too fast for that and on top of that, cut you with his knife before you could stop him. Thus, he earned himself your eternal hate." Izaya finished his story, looking Shizuo in the eye seriously. "But look at me again now, Shizu-chan. I'm no longer fifteen and I'm no longer amused by making your life miserable just because. I don't even hate you anymore. I told you I loved you this morning after all, didn't I? Have you given it some thought?"

"I'm not interested in your jokes."

"I wasn't joking." Izaya stood up on his toes and moved his hands up to drag Shizuo's head down to his level but Shizuo was better prepared this time around and pushed him away before he could make their lips meet. "Shizu-chan..." Izaya sighed. "I used to be repulsed by your animalistic ways and total lack of self-control and the way you were so inhumanly simple, no intricacies to pry into at all. But I guess I realized you're better like that. Better than all the other humans who would happily backstab you even while they're smiling at you and who would..." He sighed. "Ah, forget it."

"Has something happened to you?" Shizuo asked with mild interest. There was something off about Izaya suddenly attempting to explain something to him instead of taunting him, even while Shizuo still felt unnerved by his mere presence.

He knew Simon was going to intervene if he started something so he tried to contain the urge to just send Izaya flying to make him shut up.

"I've made my secretary pregnant."

Shizuo blinked.

"What?" Izaya asked defensively. "What are you doing?!" He screamed when he was lifted off the ground effortlessly and sent soaring through the air for quite a long distance before landing on the pavement several feet away, scraping his hands raw and bruising his elbows and knees in the process.

He winced, pulling himself up into a sitting position.

"No hurting best customer, Shizuo!" Simon called out to him.

Shizuo ignored him, approaching Izaya with a disgruntled expression on his face, his hands in his pockets.

"The last thing the world needs is you polluting it with your offspring." Shizuo spat at his feet.

Izaya looked up at him with a decidedly hurt expression.

"I thought you liked kids."

"Yeah, I would probably like your kid, too." Shizuo admitted. "But thinking about what it was going to turn into would still make my skin crawl."

"That's why you need to make sure it won't turn out so bad." Izaya stood up from the ground and dusted off his clothes. "Shizu-chan, I'd like to give this child to you once it's born."

"What do you mean?" Shizuo asked, his mouth gaping open after he'd nearly swallowed a cigarette he was just going to light up.

"I mean I want you to adopt it. Namie doesn't want it anyway so she will probably be glad to give it up..."

"What makes you think I'd want to adopt your kid?" Shizuo asked incredulously.

"Well, I thought you wouldn't want me to raise it, right? And I admire you a lot now so... you're like the only person I can think of. I imagine a baby would've softened your image a lot too. That way you would have probably found a girlfriend quickly." 

"If this is some kind of a joke, Izaya-kun…" Shizuo sounded threatening.

"It's going to be born in half a year, if everything works out all right. Do you want to see it then and decide? Because it would've been even better if it wasn't born bearing my name. That's like a death sentence for a baby with the kinds of enemies I have."

"But you will promise not to ever get involved?" Shizuo was astonished that he was willing to even consider this ridiculous proposal.

On the other hand, he really liked kids and the thought of having one just for himself was strangely irresistible. It would have also certainly made women like him more.

"I won't." Izaya assured him, pressing his hand to his chest over his heart.

"I'll think about that. But only because I don't want you to ruin the poor kid's life."

"Thanks, Shizu-chan. You're the best person ever, really." Izaya beamed at him.

Shizuo turned around and walked away to hide another blush creeping up his cheeks.

"No fighting today?" Simon asked when Shizuo had left.

Izaya smiled.

"I think we may even get along from now on."


	8. Chapter 8

"You were very upbeat today." The old Izaya observed in a stern voice, approaching his desk. He was looking every bit as stunning as ever, from his all black clothes to the sharp smile on his lips and the penetrating gaze of his dark red eyes.

Izaya acknowledged him with a nod, taking a drag from his vanilla-scented cigarette. He was very cold at night these days and he was glad to slip back into the protective layers comprised of several of his fur-fringed parkas and coats once he was back home in the evening.

"Your condition probably hasn't been so good ever since it started. You've even managed to forgo these strange clothes for the whole afternoon." The old Izaya praised him. "That was a smart move, by the way. Shinra would have figured out what was wrong with you if he saw you looking like that."

"I'm still you. I haven't gotten stupid." Izaya pointed out, feeling slightly offended by the old his patronizing.

"I like our dog." Psyche remarked, sitting down at the edge of the desk, all white clothes and innocent pink eyes. "I'm worried about him now that we've lost him."

Izaya had been dubious ever since about what Psyche even was. Even as a child, he had been quite malicious in his experimentation on various human and non-human beings and he could not remember a time when he'd been this innocent.

But maybe that was exactly the reason why his innocence had become a whole separate person within him.

"Please go look for our dog tomorrow, IzaIza." Psyche pleaded.

"It's been so good because Namie didn't have the abortion in the end, right?" The old Izaya asked, ignoring Psyche like he was prone to do.

"I'm excited about the baby, too." Psyche commented nonetheless.

"Do you even wonder why she didn't go through with it?" The old Izaya asked. "And then came back to you on top of that? What was it she was hoping to achieve? She might have seen it as a way to extort money but it might have been something else, too."

"You slept with her so maybe that's interesting to you. Frankly, I don't care." Izaya shrugged.

Nakura emerged from the shadows, smiling in that cunning gentle way of his that made Izaya want to punch him in the face.

"You were ready to feed Namie the Dullahan's head and have her die ripped apart from the inside. That is not how we do things." Nakura remarked.

"I don't care how you do things. If she did that to my child, I would have done the same to her."

"Either way, we may never find out what she wanted anyway after what you've ended up doing to her beloved little brother." Nakura said with a pained expression. "Is he dead, by the way? How many floors up was that window he jumped out of anyway?"

"Namie probably went insane if he's dead." The old Izaya stated matter-of-factly. "How does that bode for your brat?"

"I'll manage just fine. Thank you." Izaya smiled self-assuredly.

"What bothers me is you not taking care of business." Nakura pointed out. "It's been five weeks already and you will make it go under, our agreements with the yakuza will no longer stand, we'll lose their protection and you know what will happen next. Now that the reason for this farce is no longer there and your brat's still alive, you should let someone competent take the lead."

"It's not a farce." Izaya spinned his chair around, turning his back to the three of them and facing the lights of the night time Shinjuku instead. "It will be born in half a year. I have things to do."

"You've already decided to give it away anyway. To Shizu-chan, no less." The old Izaya snorted behind his back. "Hopefully, he's going to murder it by accident on the very first day and you'll wallow in pity to the end of your life which will serve you just right for making a fool out of me. Why the fuck did you kiss him?"

"I must admit it was quite untasteful." Nakura agreed.

"He's a better person than any of you." Izaya pointed out. "Except Psyche."

"You mean Shizu-chan's a better person than me as well?" Kanra slid into his lap sensually, straddling his thighs, making for quite a scandalous display considering the shortness of her low-cut dress.

"You're a whore." Izaya commented coldly.

"Ohhh... That's so mean." She cooed. "I'll remember that the next time you lot need me to take over to get fucked by some yakuza boss. And who are you to talk? Pedophile."

"Kuronuma is sixteen."

"He looks nowhere near that old to me. And, if I were to discuss your choice of playthings, Izaya-kun..." She snatched his cigarette, took a drag herself and put it back between his lips. "I actually prefer both Shizu-chan and Namie-san to him. He's around only to stab us in the back and there's nothing even remotely attractive about him."

"I think he looked cute with that plushie shark today." Psyche argued.

"Honestly..." The old Izaya spoke up, drawing everyone's attention instantly. He had this kind of influence over the two he'd conjured himself and Psyche was plain afraid of him most of the time. "Why didn't you fuck Masaomi if you wanted a little boy? At least you would've had control over him. This thing with Kuronuma will backfire right in your hands." 

"We'll see about that." Izaya pushed Kanra off him. "Get lost now. I'm tired."

"Is Celty-san gone now?" Psyche asked, worrying.

"That's a good point." For once, the old Izaya praised him and Psyche glowed.

"I'll check tomorrow." Izaya assured them in a weary voice. When he rotated back in his chair to face the desk, everyone but the old Izaya was already gone. "What do you want?" 

"I will never forgive you for destroying my chance of immortality in such a moronic way." The old Izaya sounded spiteful.

"It was a ridiculous plan anyway." Izaya shrugged and crushed his cigarette in the ashtray on the desk. "Only a lunatic like you or Shingen Kishitani could think, even for a second, that it could ever work."

"It was better than nothing. And it's you who's a lunatic. You're nowhere near qualified nor sane enough to be in control of my life."

"But I was born through your mistakes." Izaya pointed out. "Your mind was already splintering and fraying at the edges for years and you had to be aware that if you didn't avoid certain situations things were going to get worse with time... And yet, you decided to live very much on the edge. And now it's over. I have to admit you were glorious in a way while you were still here." Izaya pointed to the side of his head. "But now, all that's left for me to do, is destroy everything you have ever achieved. I will enjoy it, for as long as it lasts."

"Fuck you."

"Gladly. Do you want to bottom?"


	9. Chapter 9

Closed off in the dark recesses of the mind that used to be his but was not quite his anymore, the old Izaya had a lot of time on his hands to reflect upon what had made him break.

If someone had asked him before, he would have never thought it was going to be because of Namie, of all things.

He slept with her because she had clearly wanted that and he had been intrigued, considering her erotic love for her brother, by her showing interest in anyone else.

He assumed she'd had the good sense to get on the pill but used condoms anyway until that one time when he didn't. The electricity in the office had stopped working and in the darkness and the sweltering heat caused by the lack of air conditioning, he dropped the pocket somewhere and didn't really care.

She slapped him when he was done but it didn't hurt at all. They had never had sex again though.

Seven weeks later, the results of a blood pregnancy test were dropped on his desk unceremoniously on Namie's way out of the office late in the evening.

"Congratulations. Is it Seiji's?" He asked good-naturedly.

"It can only be yours." Namie announced coldly. "That's why I'm going to have an abortion and you're going to pay for it. I need a five week long leave to have it. Starting next week."

The door closed behind her with a thud.

He looked down at the evidence on his desk. He should have probably checked if she was really pregnant before complying with any of her wishes. Five week long leave because of an abortion was absurd, too. But somehow he knew he wasn't going to argue.

"It's mine so she's going to kill it... Nice." He muttered to himself.

At this precise moment, quite ironically, something was born inside of him, a part of him he was pretty much sure had never existed before then, one that made him think of ridiculous what-ifs.

What if it was allowed to live. Among his all-encompassing love for humans that made nobody special for him, there would have been someone he would have been able to kill all the other humans for.

And he would have probably been forced to try because a part of him, so small and vulnerable, out there in the world, unable to fend for itself, would have been mercilessly slaughtered. A kid with a shooting target on its head. It would have needed incredible protection just to survive.

And he would have supplied it, even if it meant siding with Shizu-chan.

Izaya gripped his head. These were not his thoughts. Not in a million years.

That was when he heard the crack of his sanity snapping.

And then he no longer had control over anything anymore.


	10. Chapter 10

"Celty's gone."

"You mean she hasn't come back home yesterday?" Izaya asked into his phone, spinning in his chair languidly.

"I mean she's gone." Shinra's voice sounded raw with pain.

"How can you know?"

"All the traces of her shadow she's left behind in the apartment, a few things she's made out of it recently... they disappeared." Shinra spoke calmly, as if he was relying the symptoms of a deadly disease. "I've had a tracking device installed in her smartphone in case something drastic happened while she was on the job. And I found it dropped on the street next to a rusty motorbike and..." His voice trembled. "...and her helmet. She loved it so much, if she were there, if it was still her, wherever she was going, she would have taken it with her."

"I'm sorry." Izaya said, meaning it as nothing more than a formality.

"Do you by any chance know what has happened? Why that boy has jumped out of the window too? Is he even alive?"

"I'll check in a moment. Will you hold some kind of a funeral, Shinra-kun?"

"You're not invited."

Shinra hang up with that. He had always been a smart boy and must have figured out these things hadn't happened without Izaya's involvement.

Izaya sighed before dialing Namie's number.

"I fucking know what you did." She growled into the phone, answering immediately.

"Enlighten me then. What did I do?"

"You've sent the Dullahan's head turned into a sushi set to Seiji-kun, bloody remnants that made me faint at your office included, even while you were aware he was in love with this head and he, upon seeing it, he... You will pay for this." Her voice was pure venom. "You will never see me or your little brat again. But you will pay in other ways, too…"

"You misunderstand things, Yagiri-san." Izaya sighed. "Seiji-kun is your only male relative since you have no parents so I figured I should actually ask him for your hand in marriage, all things considered. The meal was just a gift of good will on my part. A sushi set unlike any other in the world seemed exquisite enough..."

"What made you think I'd ever want to marry you?"

"Well, actually, I was aware you might have caused problems, even if Seiji-kun was going to be okay with my offer. That's why I didn't leave this matter to your whim, seeing as we're awaiting a baby, and I've already altered our family registries accordingly." He declared merrily.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean we're married, Yagiri-san. And since you've been rendered delirious by the terrible accident that's befallen your beloved little brother, even while pregnant with our first child, I needed to take full responsibility and make the difficult decision of placing you in a mental institution. You and your pregnancy will be safe from yourself in there."

He could hear the sounds of struggling at the other end of the line. They ended quickly. He'd probably gone a little overboard with hiring yakuza to escort Namie to her destination but he preferred to be sure.

"You will be free in half a year." He announced into the phone, hoping she was still listening since the call hadn't been ended. "If you're qualified to leave then, that's it."


	11. Chapter 11

"You know who I am, right?" The Dullahan's head attached to a female body asked. She was sitting in his spinning chair behind his desk when he came back in the afternoon, Venceslav following him on its short legs.

Izaya had spent most of the day looking for the dog in the vicinity of Raira in Ikebukuro where it had disappeared the previous day after Aoba had demanded to throw it out of the apartment. Thankfully Izaya had found it rummaging through garbage in an alleyway behind a ramen bar. Psyche's whining would have been unbearable otherwise.

"Harima Mika." Izaya acknowledged the girl with a nod.

He could tell she'd been typing on his keyboard with how it was moved closer to the edge of the desk because of her shorter arms.

"You killed Seiji-san." She said matter-of-factly.

"So he died?" Izaya asked with mild interest. "That's quite lame. It was only the third floor."

"You don't think it's weird that I could get in here." Mika observed.

"This is hardly the first time after all." Izaya sighed. "You've been trying to bug this place quite a few times already."

"And you always removed all the bugs but the identification system for getting in here has never changed. Weren't you afraid I'd steal something the next time I get in?"

"No?" He smiled, taking out a cigarette. It seemed he needed a little bit of heightened awareness right now. "You're good, Mika-chan, but also quite transparent. At least, you used to be while Seiji-kun was still around. You wouldn't interfere in anything unless it was endangering him directly. I've even overheard you saying as much to Namie."

"Why did you do that?" She asked calmly. "In all this time I've spent looking at you, Orihara-san, you've never acted this unreasonable and against your own best interests."

"My interests have changed." Izaya admitted, approaching the desk and leaning down on it right in front of her. She didn't as much as flinch when he looked her in the eye from up close. "Do you remember the time before you met your beloved, Mika-chan? Back when you wouldn't have ever considered getting your face changed to resemble a living dismembered head and you wouldn't have cared to stalk every important person in this city to make sure your boyfriend was safe? Back when you hadn't been carrying a shovel with you everywhere so you could use it to break the aforementioned head into tiny pieces once you could get a hold of it without risking my wrath? Let's say I had a similar revelation."

"Because sister in law got pregnant?" She ventured a guess.

"Because I was granted immortality in a different way than I'd been planning."

"I think you've just lost your mind." She concluded, her eyes skimming down to all the layers of clothing he was wearing and back up to his sickly pale face.

"On the other hand, since I no longer had any use for this head, it seemed like a perfectly reasonable gift for Seiji-kun and yourself." He argued. "Both of you wanted it after all and you, Mika-chan, have even dreamed of eating it. I thought you were going to share this sushi set happily. And I was even going to take Namie out of the picture. A bright future was ahead of you two, if not for his stupidity."

"Unfortunately, Seiji-san wasn't this kind of person." Mika remarked sadly. "He didn't understand things the way the two of us do. But I loved him just the way he was."

"It seems he ditched you without a second thought though." Izaya pointed out. "Still, have you come to blame me? Do you want revenge now?" 

"I want to die, too. To join Seiji-san wherever he went." Mika said simply.

"Please, go on." Izaya encouraged her, relieved she wasn't going to try anything. He was aware how dangerous she could be if she wanted to. He'd seen her defeat Namie and even the vague idea of the extent of her knowledge made the old Izaya inside him cringe because there were things she'd dug out and he hadn't and it didn't sit well with his informant self at all. "Do you want me to give you the keys to the door to the rooftop? Though I bet you can open it yourself."

"I want you to keep me company. You've done that before so I figured it wasn't going to be a big deal for you."

"That's one strange request, Mika-chan."

"That's because I am a very strange girl, Orihara-san."

They went to the roof, Venceslav following them, its tail wiggling in the air happily.

"I'd suggest you do this on this side." Izaya said, pointing to the narrow alleyway dozen stories down. "You won't fall down right in the middle of a busy street, hitting someone or a moving car and you don't risk anyone seeing you before you jump and causing trouble."

She nodded.

"Say, Mika-chan..." He spoke up as she climbed to the other side of the guardrail. "Is there a place where you store all the information you've collected? It seems you'll leave quite a few operational tapping devices behind. I'll gladly take them over from you if you're up for it."

"Everything's connected to my laptop at the place I shared with Seiji-san. I glued a piece of paper with all the passwords to the bottom of it."

"I rarely say that to people but are you sure you want to throw everything away like that? I bet if we joined forces..."

"I need to go meet Seiji-san, unfortunately." She shook her head. "And I'm not that kind of person. I don't want control over anything."

She was standing at the edge of the rooftop, looking back at Izaya over her shoulder expectantly.

"I won't go to the other side." He informed her, staying behind the guardrail. "I can't afford you pushing me down right now."

She smiled. There was something off about the way her facial expressions worked. It seemed her plastic surgery had left her damaged like that.

With a face like hers, Izaya could understand how there was no way for her to keep going.

"Goodbye then, please tell my sister in law I enjoyed her suffering the way you made her suffer very much. And also that I'm going to pursue Seiji-san forever, wherever he is, and with the head start I'm going to have there's no way she'll ever be able to take him away from me."

She turned around and jumped.

Venceslav barked in alarm.

"Come on, I'll feed you." Izaya called him and left the roof.


	12. Chapter 12

"I must admit you fare pretty well." The old Izaya said, glancing down at the Shinjuku streets through the panoramic window he was standing in front of. "You even managed to keep up with work without Namie. Is it the medication's doing?"

"Maybe I'm just great like that." Izaya leaned back in his chair, downing a handful of pills of different colors with a glass of water. "And yeah, I'm paying good money for that shrink. She's also pretty hot."

"Is she? Then by all means, fuck her instead of Kuronuma."

"I've lost my interest in women after the problems with Namie. But that hasn't made me blind. On that note…" Izaya smiled at the thought of his date of sorts he'd planned for the day.

The old Izaya disappeared with a scowl.

A few hours later in Ikebukuro Izaya bowed down to kiss Vorona's hand as a greeting. She stared at him impassively.

"I don't want to offend you by any means but I have to point out that this custom is outdated." She said, pulling her hand back with visible relief.

"Your Japanese is quite charming, Vorona." He complimented.

"What are you trying to do, flea?" Shizuo huffed at him, all bothered all of a sudden.

"All I want to do is make the lady feel welcome in our country. Shall we go?"

They headed to the department store, Izaya fawning over Vorona in Japanese and Russian, Vorona ignoring him and Shizuo following the two of them with a vein popping on his forehead but fairly calm and silent otherwise.

Izaya thought it was quite funny how the bloodthirsty assassin Vorona was working with Shizuo nowadays, playing the part of his kouhai in the debt collection business. When he'd talked Shizuo into going shopping for things for his child with him he'd also suggested inviting her along because as a woman she must have surely been more knowledgeable about this stuff. And here they were in a situation that was making the old Izaya cringe and wallow in horror, looking through cute newborn clothes with his arch-enemy and a scary Russian girl.

"There's still two months left." Shizuo pointed out, looking the impossibly small clothes over cluelessly. "Can't we do this later?"

"Shizu-chan, it's a boy, why are you grabbing these lacy things."

"Please don't think of me as rude for asking but is it a custom in this country to give up your newborn children to single men who aren't part of your family?" Vorona inquired, studying a shoe the size of half her hand.

" _It's something I need to do, Vorona, if I want it to live._ " Izaya answered in Russian. " _Even if my enemies find out about it, Shizu-chan will be enough of a deterrent for them to keep their hands off it._ "

" _I think your ideas are very strange._ " She commented.

Shizuo grit his teeth, feeling quite left out with everyone around him talking gibberish.

Vorona studied Shizuo's features closely, as if she was memorizing his exact expression while he was working hard to control his rage.

Shizuo had already gotten attached to Izaya's kid in his mind and when he thought of the flea refusing to give it up in the end because of his uncontrollable violence acting out he was finding the determination within himself to contain it around him.

"Have you thought of the name already, Shizu-chan?" Izaya asked good-naturedly, throwing a bunch of baby clothes into the cart.

"I'll go ask Kasuka and go with what he says, I guess." Shizuo said.

"The guy who named his cat Yuigadokuson." Izaya sighed. "Will he name my kid after a random Buddhist saying, too? Honestly, Shizu-chan, think of someone else, or I'll name him and the name will go right over your head."

"Forgive my rudeness, Shizuo-senpai, but isn't he implying that you're not as intellectually capable as to understand a child's name meaning?" Vorona asked.

Shizuo shrugged though it wasn't easy at all for him to let an insult like that and ridiculing Kasuka's naming habits on top of that slide.

Izaya was apparently enjoying Shizuo's torment.

"I've heard different things since coming here and also the way Shizuo-senpai acted towards Izaya-san didn't seem so friendly to me at first but I have to point out that the two of you must be great friends for senpai to adopt his child as his own." Vorona uttered a lengthy Japanese statement with great concentration and attention to detail once they left the store, delivering it in a perfectly emotionless voice.

"That's not..." Shizuo opened his mouth to protest.

"Aren't we, Vorona?" Izaya asked merrily.

"What's that?" Shizuo's brow furrowed in concentration at the sound of a horse neighing in the distance. It was a pretty unusual sound to hear in Ikebukuro, especially ever since Celty's disappearance four months earlier.

The three of them stopped frozen in their track, along with all the other people who had been moving on the sidewalk just a moment ago.

A two-horse carriage made out of impermeable blackness was moving through the street, somehow avoiding colliding with cars.

"Celty?" Shizuo uttered, the cigarette in his mouth burning down forgotten.

When it got closer though they realized that the carriage was empty.

It disappeared down the street leaving wafts of black shadow in its wake. They cleared without a trace within seconds and people blinked, clearing the apparition from under their eyelids, and continued on their way, not believing in what they had seen. 


	13. Chapter 13

Izaya stretched his hand out towards Aoba who dropped the bunch of keys on it with a polite smile.

"Thank you for your patience, Orihara-san."

"You've paid for it." Izaya shrugged, pocketing the keys.

They were standing in the middle of Izaya's old Ikebukuro apartment, now completely empty save for a single futon rolled out on the floor, the very place where Aoba had been paying. All the crates with the tank parts were gone not only from this place but also from all the other hideouts.

"So, do you want to see it?" Aoba asked excitedly. A plushie squid was dangling in his hand.

"What makes you think I trust you enough to follow you right into your gang's hideout?"

"I just want you to see it, Orihara-san." Aoba assured him. "There's no malicious intent behind it, really. I still don't understand why you've given it to me but... I guess you deserve to see it?"

"You're a way more unreasonable kid than I've ever thought to put it back together, Aoba-kun." Izaya's hand landed on Aoba's head and ruffled his hair.

"Stop that." Aoba swatted it away. "It's magnificent. Nothing Yellow Scarves or Dollars or even you can match." He proclaimed with a wide smile.

"Nothing you could use in a gang war, either." Izaya pointed out. "Even if it worked."

"I'll think of a way. So, will you go see it with me?"

Suddenly, Aoba's wrist was grabbed roughly and he was pulled towards Izaya. The handcuff locked around it with a metallic click. Aoba looked down to see the other part was on Izaya's wrist, thus effectively chaining the two of them together.

"I'll go. But not without certain security measures." Izaya motioned with his head towards the handcuffs. "A friend of mine has the key." He explained. "They're a bit more special than regular handcuffs, too. Something your friends would have had hard time removing. If you want them to do something to me, well, you'd have to watch. We both know well enough that you're a bit soft like that, Aoba-kun..." Izaya's free hand tilted Aoba's chin up, forcing him to look him in the eye. "...You don't really enjoy seeing violence happen from up close. Probably had too much of it done to yourself, right? Not to mention how easy it would make it for me to use you as a human shield."

"I assure you these provisions are unnecessary, Orihara-san. Though I admire your idea. Seriously."

They walked to the Blue Squares hideout staying close to each other so the handcuffs couldn't be seen out on the streets. Aoba smiled at all the people who looked weird at them.

Izaya was quite amused by the apparent signs of his excitement. Who would have thought an utterly childish and ridiculous idea like rebuilding a Soviet tank could have been planted in Aoba's mind with such incredible results? Izaya wondered if the boy truly meant it that he intended to use it for combat someday. A tank out on the streets could have only been stopped by the defense force's intervention, thus making for an incredible spectacle, if not for an all-out war in the real meaning of the word happening on the streets.

It was amusing to imagine Kida Masaomi's expression when he would have gotten to know the Blue Squares had come up with something like that. Izaya snickered to himself.

"Do you feel okay today?" Aoba inquired as if he truly cared. 

"It's one of my better days." Izaya assured him.

Aoba was partially aware of the nature of Izaya's condition at this point, to the extent Izaya was willing to let an enemy know about a weakness like that. Then again being totally unpredictable was probably a strength, not a weakness, in the first place.

It was true Izaya had been feeling particularly well these past few days in a way that inevitably promised another breakdown in the near future. He could already feel it approaching but that only made him more willing to use the remaining time to the fullest.

The Blue Squares hideout, an abandoned warehouse decorated with blue graffiti, was a place Izaya had known the location of since forever but he had never actually entered it before. The graffiti, while sparse on the outside, covered every possible surface inside.

Among ruined furniture and piles of make-shift weapons, giant drawings of sharks and abandoned tools, the Soviet tank was taking up a central location, partially covered with dirty blue material. It was incredible Aoba had even managed to arrange the manpower to transport all its parts here from the various locations where Izaya had been storing them and connect them together with schemes in Russian as the only guide within mere four months.

Aoba dragged him closer to the tank. Nobody besides them seemed to be present in the warehouse.

"So, how do you like it, Orihara-san?" He asked, putting his free hand on the metal surface. "It's not 100% ready yet, even though it's already looking okay. Thankfully, it hasn't been missing any parts."

"You will never be able to make it work for real though." Izaya pointed out even while he was studying the tank thoughtfully. "There's only so much you can achieve with sheer perseverance. You would have had to bring in some knowledgeable engineers at this point to make it work."

"Why have you bought it then, Orihara-san?"

"Honestly, I planned on reselling it." Izaya shrugged. "It was supposed to be a temporary thing. But then the idea has grown on me even though I knew there was no way to put it back together without further investments. Maybe one day, I would have used it for something. But that's not a good idea anyway, right? The loss of life would have been at a completely different level compared to what I usually do."

"Forgive me for asking, Orihara-san, but would that have really bothered you?"

"It apparently did bother me because I just held onto it and never did anything with it."

"But that doesn't make sense."

"Look at yourself, Aoba-kun. You've rebuilt it even though you can't make it work anyway."

"It is useful for me, though. If not for anything else, then for PR purposes at least."

"So there's nobody here but us?" Izaya asked, closing the little distance there was between the two of them and pressing Aoba up against the side of the tank. "You know, Aoba-kun, I have figured out as much. Either it was going to be a trap and your gang was going to be waiting for me here with baseball bats or you were honestly only going to show me your new toy and all the guards who must be wandering around here on normal days were going to be dismissed because you can't have them seeing you bringing me right into the center of your gang's territory like that. Then again, you're not afraid of being alone with me after sleeping with me for seven months. And I knew the location of this hideout anyway since forever. I could have taken that tank back anytime I wanted. So what I'm going to do now will probably not make a whole lot of sense to you."

Aoba squirmed in Izaya's embrace.

"So, what are you going to do?" He asked with a challenging smile. "Aren't you doing whatever you want to me already anyway, Orihara-san?"

"I guess. But you're not going to like it this time around."

A switchblade was retrieved out of Izaya's pocket and opened swiftly.

Aoba whimpered involuntarily when Izaya pulled his left arm up abruptly, dragging him up to his toes through the handcuffs that were connecting their hands.

"It was fun while it lasted, Aoba-kun."

The knife was pressed to the front of Aoba's neck.

"I know you don't kill people." Aoba pointed out. "You've never actually killed anyone, Orihara-san. It's not that difficult to get to know as much. And, just like you said, that wouldn't make sense."

"It used to be the case I didn't kill people." Izaya agreed. "I used to love all humans too much for that. They all seemed so fascinating while alive it was unthinkable for the old me to just kill one considering how much amusement could be still had with every single one. But now that I hate everyone all of you may well enough rot in hell."

The spray of blood out of Aoba's carotid artery was quite pretty and Izaya enjoyed the warm droplets falling onto his skin, reminiscent of a summer rain.

"Now, Aoba-kun, since I can't drag your body around like that…"

Izaya got down to cutting Aoba's hand off.

He massaged his wrist once the other handcuff was free, even as Aoba's body minus his hand slumped down to the concrete floor in a pool of blood.

Izaya took out his phone and redialed the last number.

"Is the truck ready?... I'll send the address then." He spoke into the phone, looking up at the rebuilt tank. Contrary to what Aoba might have been thinking, it was still very much his and unlike old him, he had his uses for it.


	14. Chapter 14

"It was easy. I had none of the problems you imagined you would have if you killed someone. I didn't regret losing any opportunities he might have still presented. I didn't think I was doing something wrong taking life away. Witnessing this didn't terrify me. Am I so much better than you used to be? Or were you simply a coward?" Izaya mused from behind his desk. He was dressed in the weirdest attire he'd ever donned, the usual collection of coats and parkas supplemented with comforters and towels forming a cloak of sorts. "Do you remember what Simon told you? I think he was right about your cowardice."

The old Izaya observed him with contempt in his eyes, sitting at the edge of the desk by his side, dressed in his usual all black attire.

Losing his good looks was about the only thing Izaya regretted.

"So you're a murderer now. Way to go." The old Izaya commented.

Psyche sobbed at his other side, hugging a plushie squid tightly. He had been crying for hours. In fact, he had been persistently crying in Izaya's mind ever since that had happened. It was beyond annoying.

At least the other two hadn't appeared on that day. The old Izaya probably had stopped them from showing up consciously, since he must have been aware that He was coming, which was to be expected on a day like that.

"Was it a sacrifice to your new God?" The old Izaya asked, his voice as annoying as Psyche's sobs.

Izaya smiled with superiority at the stupidity his other selves displayed.

But He was coming for real.

Искѹситєл҄ь. [Iskusitelĭ]

"What's this nonsense with the Old Church Slavonic anyway?" The old Izaya sighed, glancing at the Bible in a language that had no uses whatsoever that Izaya had been studying these past few months. Granted, it was similar enough to Russian for him to understand a lot of it but ever since his new self had started thinking in it he felt as if it was all a plan to shut him off for good. And he didn't like that. "And why won't you simply call Him Дьявол. [Dyavol]"

"Дьѣволъ. [Dĭěvolŭ]" Izaya corrected him absent-mindedly.

"I'm scared." Psyche said softly, his lower lip trembling. The plushie squid he was hugging was stained with blood. That, combined with how unnaturally wide his magenta eyes were, made for a sight almost as disturbing as Izaya's layered clothes.

The old Izaya sighed in exasperation. Being surrounded by fools in what used to be his own mind was such a disaster. Not to mention this... apparition or whatever it was.

Quite conveniently, it was looking like him too, except its red eyes were burning with intense light and a black cloak was covering its body completely, merging with the darkness at its feet. The vibes it was giving off were making it believable as what it claimed to be.

"Congratulations, Izaya. Another commandment broken. Not that these should be on your mind."

The old Izaya's eyes narrowed.

"What the fuck are you?" He asked the apparition.

"I may be your arrogance taken to the logical extreme but do you really think that it could be all I am?"

The plushie squid hit the apparition on its head. They all turned to look at Psyche.

"Get the fuck out of my mind, you monsters! All of you!"

It was impossible to continue any civilized conversation with him screaming like that.


	15. Chapter 15

A/N: This chapter is essentially a description of a terrorist attack. Be warned.

* * *

"Orihara-san! Let me out, you sick bastard!" Kida started protesting the moment the hatch was closed. His enraged screams died down immediately though when he felt the cold barrel of a gun being pressed to the back of his head.

"Please refrain from making such a ruckus in this tight space we're entitled to share together." A female voice sounded right from behind him, the foreign accent and awkward sentence structure making him wonder what nationality the woman was.

A big white man emerged at his side and started fastening his hands to the tank's levers with several layers of duct tape in complete silence, Kida's attempts at resistance not affecting him in the slightest.

The woman and the man exchanged a few phrases in what sounded like Russian to Kida.

Then, somehow, the tank started moving. The world swayed through the small periscope in front of his widening eyes and he realized he was actually steering this monstrous thing with no way to stop.

Meanwhile, Izaya boarded the elevator to the top floor of an office building nearby. His attire was not bad, all things considered, and consisted of three layers of jackets only. His elevated vantage point on the roof was already prepared.

"Has it already appeared, Aoba-kun?" He asked the boy he had kidnapped from the hospital upon arriving on the roof, the myriad lights of the night time Ikebukuro shining all around then.

Aoba was looking unusually subdued with no smile, pale skin and deep dark shadows under his eyes. His neck was covered in thick layers of bandages. He heard how lucky he was to still be alive countless times in the past few weeks. The handcuff attaching his remaining hand to the guardrail at the edge of the rooftop was making his bad memories resurface. Izaya's presence had roughly the same effect.

Venceslav was sitting patiently at Aoba's feet like the obedient dog he'd become within the past few months under Izaya's careful tutelage.

The tank rolled out onto the street down below with a metallic sound, causing an instant havoc. Some people on the sidewalks started running away blindly, others stilled and stared, wondering if it was some movie scene being filmed or something of the sort.

Izaya surveyed their shocked expressions through a pair of binoculars, leaning down over the guardrail.

"The Blue Sky has perished, the Yellow Sky will soon rise." He muttered, making sure Aoba heard him.

The tank was painted yellow.

Masses of Blue Squares and Dollars members emerged from the alleyways, armed with makeshift weapons and baseball bats, concentrated in the area after he'd let Mikado know the Yellow Scarves had been preparing something special for this particular night at this location.

"You know, Aoba-kun, my son will be born in just a month." Izaya mused, still observing the street down below through the binoculars. "I can't have him spend his childhood in a city where color gangs rule the streets. This will be the end of this nonsense."

"Was that the real reason why you've acquired that tank?" Aoba asked.

"The old me might have planned to use it to provoke a conflict that would have awoken the Valkyrie so she would have made him immortal. But he didn't have the guts to use it anyway. I have no such interests, though."

"If we're talking history, the Yellow Scarves rebellion was actually crushed in the end." Aoba pointed out softly.

"Then by all means, defeat me, if you know how, Aoba-kun."

The tank was moving around randomly, as if whoever was steering it couldn't really control it. A few inattentive passersby were crushed before the people on the street realized they should have run away. Cars were ran over and crushed. The Blue Squares members retreated back into narrow alleyways and tried throwing things at the tank. The first Molotov cocktail soared through the air.

Two TV news helicopters started circulating above their heads within the next few minutes.

Izaya saw through the binoculars how the eyes of some people on the street turned red and instead of retreating they tried facing the approaching tank head on. It was really sweet. Saika herself appeared in her school uniform, with determination shining in her blood red eyes. But she must have realized the katana in her hand, cursed or not, was no match for a tank when she narrowly missed being crushed by its tracks.

A dozen or so police cars blocked both entryways of the street. The ruckus among the policemen clearly indicated they were aware there was no way to stop a tank without engaging the self-defense forces.

And it was before the machine gun of the tank was lowered and started firing to keep the more adventurous Blue Squares from trying to climb up on it.

Izaya glanced down at his smartphone's screen. The news was spreading around Tokyo, Japan and the world. It was reported an anti-tank missile was on its way.

" _Get out of there._ " He dialed Vorona's number and spoke up in Russian. " _And don't forget to unglue Masaomi. I want to have a chat with him. That may be difficult if..._ "

Suddenly, in a reenactment of sorts of the famous scene on the Tiananmen square, a boy stood right in front of the tank with his hands spread at his sides, as if daring it to move forward and crush him.

"... _and don't crush or shoot this fool._ " Izaya continued, pressing the binoculars to his eyes to look at the person closely. "Your Mikado-senpai is such a brave person, don't you think?" He addressed Aoba.

A military helicopter appeared above their heads.

A smokescreen enveloped the tank and most of the street. When it cleared, the hatch was open and the tank's occupants were gone.

Izaya ended the call and threw the phone away over the guardrail.

He pressed the binoculars to Aoba's eyes so he could see as well.

Kida's blond head was forcefully pressed to Mikado's chest, his body slumped in his embrace.

Some dead bodies were lying around and the policemen swarmed the scene upon realizing the tank wasn't going to move anymore but the two boys didn't even seem to notice.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Izaya asked before starting to laugh.


	16. Chapter 16

"We should probably leave now before the police notices us up here and demands a statement. On that note, Aoba-kun, how are they doing with finding your assailant?" Izaya asked.

"Fuck you."

"I have a really mean answer ready to that, Aoba-kun, but I won't sink to your level." Izaya sighed. "Let's go."

He uncuffed Aoba from the guardrail and started dragging him towards the door of the staircase but the sight that confronted them made him stop in his tracks.

"What the..."

Since Harima Mika was dead, there was no other person, if it could be called that, that could have had these facial features, and he would have had recognized that face anywhere after having stared at it as much as he had back when it had been a bodiless head.

The Valkyrie was standing on the roof in front of him, comprised of the head he used to own, Celty's body covered in a thin veil of shadow and giant black feathered wings.

"Aoba-kun, can you see that too?" He asked, wanting to make sure.

"Is this some evolved version of the Black Rider?" Aoba ventured a guess.

"So you can see her." Izaya reasoned. "The Angel of War has really appeared." Izaya laughed happily. "Where have you been hiding all these months?" He asked and upon not getting an answer walked up to the Valkyrie. "Celty?"

Without saying a word, the mysterious creature enveloped him in a tight embrace.

Venceslav walked up and licked her shoes.

* * *

"She's following me around. Granted, it's a bit uncomfortable. If I managed to avoid drawing unnecessary attention to myself up to this point, that's no longer possible with this winged creature acting as my shadow." Izaya sighed.

Even as he was sitting in his chair, the Valkyrie was perched at the edge of the desk by his side like a giant bird, her face emotionless like a mask. She had yet to say a single word since appearing.

"Tell me what she wants or what she can give me. You ought to know if you're really the Devil."

Iskusitelĭ smiled upon hearing that. His blood red eyes surveyed the Valkyrie briefly.

"She'll do whatever you want. She may even be a succubus." He answered.

"I don't need her for that." Izaya sighed. "I'm not Shinra. Valkyrie." He called her.

She turned sideways to look at him.

"How do I address her?" He asked Iskusitelĭ.

"Try Japanese. If she doesn't understand, try Gaelic."

"Stay here from now on and wait until I'll call you." Izaya commanded the Valkyrie.

She actually nodded. Izaya felt relieved at apparently having made her stop following him.

"Where's the old me anyway? He wanted to meet her so badly. Too bad he never had the guts to arrange enough of a bloodbath to catch her interest."

Iskusitelĭ's smile grew wider. He stretched out his hand and pointed to the side.

Izaya's gaze followed only to be greeted with the gruesome sight of the old him lying on the ground on his back, gutted like a pig. The bodies of Nakura and Kanra laid strewn around him, less mutilated but as apparently dead as his.

"So it's only the two of us left now?" Izaya looked back to Iskusitelĭ's cold smile wondering when he was going to share a similar fate with his other selves.

"I didn't do that, if that's what you're thinking." Iskusitelĭ pointed out.

Psyche materialized by Izaya's side, covered in blood from head to toe, his wide magenta eyes the only thing that was making it possible to even recognize him at all.

"It's the two of you now. I'm an external party anyway." Iskusitelĭ said. "An observer." He was looking at them delightedly. "And I think I'm going to enjoy the show. You've heard him telling us all to disappear the last time I visited, Izaya."

Still, what Izaya believed for years to be the personification of the innocence he'd never had eliminating the other selves through bloody slaughter wasn't a possibility he'd ever considered. It was tricky to do any kind of strategizing regarding the inner workings of one's own mind, especially when insanity was warping it into an unknown land full of unexpected traps, but the little bit he had done anyway had never taken this into account.

"It seems to me you're next on his hit list." Iskusitelĭ was apparently having fun.

"Psyche?" Izaya turned to face the disturbing creature reeking of human blood so strongly it was making him sick.

He probably needed a change of medication. Or maybe a better shrink.

Psyche's magenta eyes were staring at him with mild curiosity that had nothing to do with maliciousness. And yet something inside him must have completely snapped at the notion of all the blood on their hands. Maybe he was another reason why the old Izaya couldn't kill. Maybe it was some kind of common sense he'd carelessly disregarded to avoid doing certain things so as not to awaken demons like Psyche inside oneself.

"Can you stop him, Iskusitelĭ?" Izaya asked.

"I can. But my services aren't free, Izaya. I enjoyed the bloodshed last night very much. But there are more specific interests of mine that I'd like to be met. I'll stop him if you tell me you will do whatever I want."

Psyche took a step towards Izaya, a switchblade opening in his hand.

"What if whatever you want includes what he's trying to do?" Izaya asked uncertainly.

Iskusitelĭ laughed for the first time since he'd ever appeared. His laughter was disturbing in ways the old Izaya's had never been. There was nothing even remotely good-natured about it.

"It's your choice, Izaya. Is what you want to become next a man who read the Bible in a few more or less strange languages and in the end still decided the words he liked best were 'Non serviam' or this atrocity with the mind of a two year old that would have been the happiest if Shizu-chan adopted it too. It's just a matter of taste. Besides, I'm not interested in all aspects of your sorry little life. I won't slaughter you like he will because I'd still like you to take care of the mundane for me."

The offer was by no means as gracious as Iskusitelĭ was making it seem and Izaya was aware of that. Things weren't ready yet though and he needed to stall Psyche's takeover until they were. Only a month was left until his son was going to be born, after all.

"Stop him."

Bars made from shadow erupted from the ground between him and Psyche, stretching endlessly sideways in both directions. Izaya took a step back just as Psyche's switchblade collided with them with a metallic sound.

"Now, let me have a look around." Iskusitelĭ's voice demanded even as he couldn't be seen anywhere anymore.


	17. Chapter 17

Iskusitelĭ was feeling great in Izaya's body, sitting in his spinning chair with the vast expense of the desk in front of him, the black-winged Valkyrie hunched on its edge. He was feeling as if he had the world at his fingertips.

The news worldwide were full of reports from Ikebukuro. The death toll had reached thirty seven victims. The tank still hadn't been removed from among the crushed cars on the closed off ruined street and was being photographed from every possible angle from the surrounding rooftops and helicopters.

Ryuugamine Mikado was quite a celebrity now after his stopping the deadly tank with his own body stunt that had been caught on video by the TV news helicopter.

Therefore Iskusitelĭ didn't expect him lurking in the old chatroom both Kanra and Mikado had previously abandoned months ago out of all things he could have been doing but he was delighted to find him there nonetheless.

 _Totmacher has joined the chat_

[Totmacher] Good morning. Have you watched the weather forecast by any chance? I wonder if it is going to be raining blood again today in Ikebukuro.

[Tanaka Taro] Scary.

[Kyo] A new person appeared in our chatroom that has been nearly completely abandoned ever since Tanaka Taro who is now back, Kanra-san and then Setton-san have all disappeared, but is it a good idea to be chatting with that person when the first thing they say in a chatroom is about raining blood and on a day like today on top of that?

[Mai] Quite scary.

[Bakyura] Totmacher-san: jokes about what happened yesterday are not appreciated here. If that's how you're going to act you can leave this chatroom now.

[Kyo] Bakyura-san is so serious today!

[Saika] Bakyura-san: I think we should give this new person a chance.

[Tanaka Taro] Totmacher-san: Who has invited you into this chatroom?

[Totmacher] I invited myself using Kanra-san's computer. I've taken it over from Kanra-san since she no longer needs it after death.

[Tanaka Taro] Kanra-san is dead?

[Bakyura] That would have served the bastard so right if it were true.

[Bakyura] Sorry about that. I couldn't stop myself.

[Saika] Has Kanra-san died in the tank incident yesterday?

[Totmacher] No. A friend of mine murdered her.

[Mai] Scary person!

[Private mode] Kyo: Is that you, Iza-nii? Correct me if I'm wrong but I've googled up your new handle and it seems to mean something like a murderer in German?

[Private mode] Totmacher: Your brother is dead, Kyo-san.

[Private mode] Tanaka Taro: I'm sorry for opening up a private conversation when we've only just met for the first time, Totmacher-san, but how do you know of Kanra-san's death? Do you know who Kanra-san was IRL as well?

[Private mode] Totmacher: I've seen you closed off the Dollars boards this morning, Tanako Taro-kun. I presume the Blue Squares have been likewise disbanded. Has Bakyura-san done the same to the Yellow Scarves? It doesn't even matter though with how they are now going to be destroyed by the officials for attacking Ikebukuro with a tank anyway. So many organizations dying out all at once, it's like a plague.

[Private mode] Tanaka Taro: How do you know everyone's identity? Has Kanra-san told you everything?

[Private mode] Totmacher: I've consumed Kanra-san, every bone, every piece of flesh, every drop of blood, every thought and every feeling.

[Private mode] Tanaka Taro: You're a confusing person, Totmacher-san.

[Private mode] Totmacher: How does it feel to be the Saviour, Tanaka Taro-kun? You've stopped the evil forces from destroying Ikebukuro with your own body and redeemed Bakyura-san. You're a true hero now.

[Private mode] Tanaka Taro: Actually, it's pretty embarrassing. Especially the way you make it sound, Totmacher-san.

[Private mode] Totmacher: Have you seen Young Leaf Mark lately, Tanaka Taro-kun? It seems someone has tried to kill him.

[Private mode] Tanaka Taro: How come you know everything, Totmacher-san? It seems you really have all of Kanra-san's information. I know Kanra-san liked pulling pranks like that so are you by any chance Kanra-san?

[Private mode] Totmacher: Kanra-san is dead.

[Saika] It's got quiet all of a sudden.

[Saika] But if Kanra-san really is dead and so is Setton-san this is really unfortunate.

[Kyo] It's like this chat room itself is cursed and whoever chats here dies eventually. This new person who appeared here today with the Totmacher handle isn't good news either. Totmacher means 'the one bringing death' in German it seems. I hope it doesn't turn out to be a story similar to Ringu.

[Mai] You scare me.

[Totmacher] I have an announcement to make before I go.

[Saika] We're listening.

[Totmacher] Another tragedy will happen in Ikebukuro tonight. Please don't try stopping it even while knowing about it beforehand from me. Or the chatroom curse Kyo-san has thought about may actually become real.

 _Totmacher has left the chat_

* * *

A/N: Note how Totmacher talks about death in every single one of his posts.


	18. Chapter 18

"Crazy? That's such a harsh word, Aoba-kun." Izaya clicked his tongue. "Granted, I do have a shrink. But she actually deems me pretty functional. I manage to take care of myself and keep my job. I'm interested in the well-being of my wife and child. I sleep every night, I eat reasonably, I talk pretty coherently, I wander around and manage to make it back home. There's nothing that wrong with me." He spoke into his phone conversationally. "An excuse to do whatever I want? That's a pretty good theory but then again, you have always been a smart boy, Aoba-kun. _That I essentially am not in madness. But mad in craft._ " He cited. "That's Hamlet, Aoba-kun. Any restrictions that might have been stopping me were self-imposed anyway. It was my love of humans. An unnecessary feeling really. The only thing I love now is seeing them perish." Izaya laughed into the phone. "I dare you to try and destroy me, really. Now that Mikado-kun has disbanded Blue Squares and Dollars and you've seen with your own eyes what it was he cared about all along and it wasn't you or your gang. Now that even my dog is no longer afraid of you like he used to be... Please try, I'll enjoy the desperation in your eyes."

He hang up with that and smiled down at Venceslav satisfactorily. The basset hound curled up and whimpered pitifully under his gaze. Somehow, he could tell the difference. Iskusitelĭ was quite unnerved by that.

He retrieved the longest and most elaborate black coat Izaya owned from the closet. The inside was all soft black fur. He put the switchblade, the wallet and the phone into the pockets, discarding the packet of vanilla flavored cigarettes.

"Valkyrie, let's go." He called her and she stood up and approached, the black feathers of the giant wings on her back fluttering as she moved.

There was a big cage waiting in front of his door. He let the black tosa inu out of it and was happy to realize that even as it kept its distance, it was nowhere near as badly afraid of him as Venceslav.

He decided to have it murder the basset hound later, before patting its head affectionately.

It was late evening and most of the occupants had already left the office building. He was alone with the Valkyrie in the elevator on the way down. It was probably better that way too, because any person who would have encountered them there would have probably ended up with a heart attack.

They crossed the hall uninterrupted.

The taxi was already waiting outside. The driver had been paid so well he ignored the winged creature getting in. He had probably decided her wings were some kind of costume.

"There's a business meeting I need to attend, Valkyrie." Izaya informed her once the car started moving, looking at his phone. "You'll act as my bodyguard."

She nodded. Izaya wondered how it was possible that she could clearly understand Japanese. Was Celty still somewhere there behind that disinterested face and blind obedience?

They reached their destination in Ikebukuro and headed to the rooftop where the meeting had been set up. Vorona and Slon were already waiting, leaning back against the guardrail. Full moon was hanging low over the horizon, its light dimmed out by the lights of the city.

" _Your job yesterday was admirable._ " Izaya praised them in Russian that had no foreign accent whatsoever, which, Vorona noted, hadn't been the case when she'd heard him speak it before.

She eyed the fighting dog following Izaya before looking back up into his eyes.

" _It would have been better still if you didn't insist on this kid who has apparently seen the inside of a tank for the first time in his life being the driver, Izaya._ " Slon complained. " _Even Samia would have been a much better bet. Though he likes this place so much he probably wouldn't..._ "

Vorona jabbed Slon's ribs with her elbow, making him stop saying unnecessary things.

" _But Masaomi was crucial for my plan._ " Izaya pointed out. " _It was the final battle between the Blue and the Yellow, after all. Though I presume you're not so good at Chinese history. Mikado's reenacting of the more recent parts of it was a nice touch too that I haven't even needed to stage myself. I always knew the kid had potential. All in all, it turned out perfect. Say, Vorona, have you been at work today? How has Shizuo reacted to what has happened?_ "

" _I believe we haven't met here for small talk._ " She replied coldly. " _Shizuo took the week off anyway. It seems he's preparing a room for your brat._ "

" _Ah... That's charming._ "

" _We'd like to get the money now, Izaya._ " Slon demanded.

" _But you have been paid the set amount already._ "

" _Not enough._ " Vorona shook her head. " _We'd like to be paid more._ "

" _That was not part of our deal._ " Izaya sounded offended.

" _We'll have a new deal. No problem._ " Vorona shrugged. " _We will be bodyguards of your child once it's born._ "

" _What an incredible dedication, Vorona. But what child would need a bodyguard when it's already living with Heiwajima Shizuo?_ "

" _Heiwajima Shizuo is not invincible._ " Vorona pointed out. " _And I've been studying his weaknesses for months now._ "

" _Should I be afraid of these thinly veiled threats of yours?_ " Izaya asked, sounding quite amused.

Vorona wondered what he was really thinking behind that act. He'd made it obvious in the past few months he cared about that brat of his who was soon to be born and she figured he also cared about Shizuo in some way if he was willing to let him adopt it. Therefore it seemed like a perfect plan to glean even more money from him by threatening him with these two's safety. Especially since the amount he'd paid them already for the tank operation made it apparent he had money. Lots of it.

" _I'd suggest you consider our offer before something drastic happens._ " Vorona insisted.

" _I'm afraid you're threatening the wrong person, Vorona._ " Izaya's smile changed into something way more malicious. " _Say, are you two Orthodox Christians by any chance?_ "

Vorona snorted.

" _What kind of a question is that?_ "

" _A crucial one, considering my plans. Though I think the fact that you're Russian will suffice anyway._ " He motioned with his hand for the Valkyrie to appear. She landed gracefully by his side, having floated above their heads previously, her giant wings spread wide. " _What you're trying to do might have worked with Orihara Izaya, the Shinjuku informant, though I wouldn't have been so sure about that either, but it doesn't phase *me* in the slightest. Kill them, Valkyrie._ "

The fight was quick and strangely silent. A long scythe akin to the one Celty had been displaying sometimes appeared in the Valkyrie's hands and she lunged at the two Russians without a moment of hesitation, wielding it proficiently. The shots they had fired didn't phase her, the wounds they'd inflicted closing even as she was flying towards them. Vorona's pretty blond head rolled on the surface of the rooftop soon enough and Slon was slaughtered a moment later, a string of Russian profanities escaping his throat before he died with his chest cut open.

The tosa inu ran up to the fresh bodies enthusiastically and started lapping up their blood.

"You're really quite something, Valkyrie." Izaya praised her and she nodded, the scythe disappearing from her hand in wisps of black shadow. "Let's head on to continue. After all, the night is still young."


	19. Chapter 19

"Izaya, eat sushi? Don't look so good." Simon acknowledged Izaya with a nod, giving out leaflets on the street in front of Russia Sushi as usual.

It was late morning, too early for lunch, and not that many people were interested. After the occurrences of the past two evenings, people on the streets of Ikebukuro seemed quite subdued in general and having fun eating out wasn't on top of everyone's list of priorities.

There was much speculation on the Internet, on TV and in the newspapers about the recent events and people rushed back home after doing what they needed to do to stay informed. Some were afraid of further attacks as well and avoided going out entirely.

"Have you heard already?" Izaya asked in a neutral voice.

Simon noted how he was wearing fairly normal looking clothes but he seemed very miserable for some reason. Was it possible that he was worried for Ikebukuro's sake with the recent occurrences ruining this city he knew so well? Simon would have been happy about Izaya having such feelings in his selfish heart but he doubted it could have been the case.

"New dog, Izaya? Where is Venceslav?" Simon inquired instead of replying, eyeing the black tosa inu following Izaya around suspiciously. It was not a good dog. It was trained to kill.

"Home. An acquaintance of mine picked up this tosa inu actually. I'd like someone else to have it. Are you interested, Simon?" Izaya offered the leash to him. "It needs a strong owner. It would suit you."

"Generous, Izaya." Simon accepted the leash. "We heard of everything. Here, this place, we hear everything from the street."

" _I'm sorry about your church. I don't know if you were religious but it was still something connected to the culture of your motherland._ " Izaya switched to Russian.

" _Two Russians murdered and the Eastern Orthodox Cathedral burnt down all on one night. It makes it seem like someone's targeting us._ " Simon agreed thoughtfully. " _But if they hope to scare Russia Sushi away from here, it's not working. We'll fight to the last drop of blood before leaving Ikebukuro so let them bring their tanks and fire on!_ " He declared.

" _Nothing of this sort will happen, Simon. I'll make sure of that._ " Izaya said.

" _You seem to have grown up somehow._ " Simon observed. " _Is it because of your child?_ "

Izaya smiled faintly in response before walking inside the restaurant.

Iskusitelĭ had made Valkyrie murder two people last night, burnt down a church, wandered through cemeteries throughout the rest of the night and left in the morning, leaving a pounding headache of a sleepless night, missed medication and nicotine withdrawal behind.

Izaya sat down at the bar and studied the photos of Vorona and Slon displayed on it among some flowers and candles. The news sure spread fast around this city.

"A lovely woman like her. And so young..." Dennis sighed, glancing at the photo of Vorona. "Some kind of a beast has slaughtered them. And on the same night as an Orthodox church was burnt." Dennis crossed himself quickly. "Right after the tragedy with the Soviet tank." He crossed himself again.

"At least the color gangs are done for." Izaya pointed out. " _And we both know well enough what kind of a job Vorona and Slon did._ "

" _It's not a human thing to judge them, though. And not a human hand has slaughtered them, either._ "

Izaya decided it was too bothersome to continue that kind of a conversation. He looked around the nearly empty restaurant and upon spotting the van gang at a big table in the corner, made his order, and walked up to join them.

Psyche was screaming in his mind which only served to make his headache worse.

"Hey, Dotachin." He slid into the seat next to Kadota. "Lobster sashimi?"

"I'm not eating that." Kadota said, distancing himself from the dish Karisawa and Yumasaki were poking at, quite happy about the lobster being alive and moving its antennae even as its tail was being eaten.

"Ne ne IzaIza, I've got to ask you: is it really true you're adopting a child with Shizu-chan? Does it mean you two are an official couple?" Erika inquired excitedly, losing her interest in the disturbing dish at once.

"I think you've got some of that wrong."

"Which part?" Erika's mood fell somewhat.

"Have you seen Shizu-chan yesterday?" Izaya asked, ignoring her question.

Everyone around the table shook their heads.

"He hasn't gotten involved in the tank incident though?" Yumasaki wondered in a rare display of seriousness. "Well, we would have heard about it if he did, right?"

"IzaIza, are you worried about him?" Erika's excitement was coming back.

"I was just wondering." Izaya shrugged.

A plate of ootoro was placed in front of him but somehow he didn't even feel like eating it.

"Karisawa, Yumasaki, weren't you supposed to attend some light novel release today?" Kadota spoke up, a certain urgency to his voice making Erika and Walker start gathering their things instantly.

Togusa followed them out of the restaurant to give them a lift.

Izaya's switchblade piercing the living lobster's head through along with the plate underneath it put an end to its suffering as soon as they were gone.

"What's wrong with you?" Kadota inquired, studying Izaya's face thoughtfully.

"I've lost my mind eight months ago." Izaya informed him matter-of-factly. "Not that anyone cared." He shrugged before turning to look at Kadota. "But I like the look on your face now, Dotachin. As if you at least feel guilty about it. I like it very much. It seems I have an appointment with my shrink in two hours but she won't help me anyway so I won't bother. You've got to make it up to me for being such a bad bad friend, though."

Kadota blinked when Izaya wrapped his arms around his neck and kissed him hard on the mouth, forcing his tongue inside.

It seemed it was true he had gone crazy. 


	20. Chapter 20

"Valkyrie, is what the old me figured out about you true and you can really make someone immortal?" Izaya asked the winged creature staring out through the panoramic window in his office, observing the street down below with an unreadable expression.

She nodded.

"How does it work then since you apparently didn't give it to me on your own? Do I need to ask you first in some way?"

She nodded again.

She refused to talk. Even when he got her a smartphone and tried to coax her into typing her answers the way Celty had been doing.

"Can I ask you to make another person immortal? If this person suits your taste."

She hesitated but nodded again.

"And the control I have over you, can it be transferred to someone else? If I clearly state it?"

She nodded and turned to look at him.

"Do you know what I mean to do?"

She smiled knowingly for the first time since he'd met her.

* * *

The first thing in the morning, even as Izaya was busy cooking meat for Venceslav in the kitchen, a small package was delivered to his door. He paid for it and brought it inside out of curiosity what it was even though he didn't remember ordering anything.

Upon realizing it was a complete collection of Burzum CDs he was quick to determine it was something Iskusitelĭ must have ordered. "Aske" had been conveniently placed on top, the picture of the burnt down church making memories full of fire and stained glass cracking from the heat pass under Izaya's eyelids.

In his mind, the fire was still burning in places, Psyche was sitting curled up in his cage, still clutching the switchblade in his hand and still covered in blood.

Iskusitelĭ materialized right next to him wearing the long black coat, a satisfied smile adorning his face.

"How do you like my gift, Izaya?" He asked, disregarding the fact that he'd made him pay for that 'gift' himself. Not that Iskusitelĭ had any money of his own that wasn't Izaya's anyway. Not that he had anything at all.

"I don't have particular appreciation for black metal." Izaya shrugged. "I imagine you are quite goth yourself, though."

"Rather I have this feeling something's connecting me to Vikernes. And what might that be? He's a murderer and an arsonist of churches, after all. Just like us."

"I could suggest a more ancient role model to you, Iskusitelĭ. His name was Herostratus. And he did it for fame. As if he needed to assert that he had once existed. You're really just a figment of my imagination and not the higher being you claim to be if you need to resort to such measures yourself."

"I've always known you were quite sharp, Izaya." Iskusitelĭ smiled pleasantly, unperturbed.

"And he was punished not only by being executed but also by something that's called damnatio memoriae." Izaya continued. "I will make sure the same thing happens to you. But unlike the Ephesians I won't make the mistake of letting as little as one mention of you to stay there."

"Please try, Psyche will be set free the moment you hurt me."

"Just like you said some time ago, it's just a matter of taste." Izaya turned around to face Iskusitelĭ. "I may not enjoy the thought of a mad simple-minded idiot like him taking over but I prefer it to having a cunning destructive psychopath like you around once my son is born."

Iskusitelĭ laughed in that disturbing way of his.

"Why is that brat even so important?"

"I have no idea. He just is."

It felt strange to bury his knife right into the heart of someone who looked essentially exactly like him and watch his red eyes become clouded and empty as the pierced-through muscle stilled around the blade.

The Valkyrie rushed from the office and into the kitchen upon hearing the thump of Izaya's body hitting the floor.

He was unconscious when she reached his side, an opened package of CDs was lying on the table, seemingly a cause to what had happened.

Venceslav looked up at her urgently and barked. She turned the stove off and filled the dog's bowl with food.


	21. Chapter 21

"It was born at sunrise on the 25th." Shizuo's voice was what woke Izaya up and for a moment he couldn't make any sense of things. He needed a cigarette, though. "The adoption was all done already so we just went there with Kasuka..." Shizuo's voice was too loud for him to be talking to Izaya considering he seemed to be standing right next to him so there must have been someone else there, too."...signed some papers and took it home but I was still thinking the flea here might have been interested. I mean I know it's him and he's a cold bastard but it's not everyday that your kid is born."

Izaya bolted upright and looked around his very own office where he was lying on his very own couch. Shizuo was leaning against the side of it.

"What do you mean: it was born?" He asked incredulously before even starting to wonder what was Shizuo of all people doing inside his office.

"Look at your phone, flea. I have called you like a million times."

"How did you get in here?" Izaya asked, taking a look at his phone, the dozens of unanswered calls and messages he'd received making his head swim.

"Kadota let me in." Shizuo explained, motioning towards the kitchen with his head.

"Hi, Dotachin." Izaya smiled weakly, turning around to see Kadota emerge from the kitchen, Venceslav following him around. It proved to have been a good idea to give him the access card to the office. "Have I lost consciousness?" Izaya accepted the tea Kadota had brought him but put it away onto the coffee table right after receiving it. "Shizu-chan, spare me a cigarette." He asked, realizing the packet in his pocket was empty.

"I quit smoking."

"No, seriously? Because of my kid?" Izaya smiled. "That's really sweet. So... Where is it now?"

"My place, with Kasuka and Ruri."

"So Namie didn't cause problems?"

"You mean his mother? It seems she has somehow already left before we had even arrived. But the nurse said she wanted us to take good care of it and keep it away from you. You know, flea, I seem to understand her reasoning."

"I hope she signed the divorce papers for me before leaving." Izaya sighed, reaching for the tea for lack of a cigarette. "How have you been lately, Shizu-chan? With what happened in Ikebukuro and with Vorona's death? First Celty, then her. You seem to bring bad luck to ladies." He clicked his tongue.

"You know what I think, flea."

"You think it's my fault." Izaya replied instantly. And for once, how very right you are, Shizu-chan, he thought. "I don't even feel like explaining to you how very wrong you are. So, does it look like me?"

Shizuo shrugged.

"It doesn't look like much of anything." He replied.

"It seems you've been out of it for quite a while, Izaya-kun." Kadota noted. "More than a day."

"I should probably pay more attention to taking my medication on time then. Or something." Izaya shrugged. He was puzzled he had woken up as himself at all. What about Psyche? Either way, there was one more thing he needed to do before he would really be gone. "There is something I need you to see, Shizu-chan." He said before calling the Valkyrie who emerged from the adjacent guest room where she must have hidden herself when Kadota and Shizuo had arrived.

"Celty?" Shizuo asked uncertainly upon seeing her, surveying this new form of his lost friend with quite a bit of unease. There was something fishy about her now even though she was no longer headless.

She didn't respond. She was looking at Shizuo and Kadota indifferently, merely acknowledging their presence, no trace of recognition in her eyes.

"She's not exactly Celty and she's not very talkative." Izaya explained. "In fact, she doesn't talk at all even though she can understand everything. Let's say I've acquired her... through certain means and now she's kind of my servant. I mean she does whatever I ask of her."

"So that's what happened to Celty after she's found her head? She does whatever *you* want, flea?" It was quite obvious Shizuo didn't like that one bit with how his hands clenched into fists and his voice turned somewhat deadly.

"I imagine it doesn't sit so well with you, Shizu-chan, but I will hereby transfer my ownership of her to my child. I hope that will be enough to appease you." Izaya spoke up. "She is very powerful, too. There are things she might have helped me with. But I will give her up in case you two need her." He turned to look the Valkyrie in the eye. "Become my son's guardian and once he's fifteen start following his commands if he will give them to you. If he ever asks you for immortality, give it to him as well if he meets whatever conditions you have. Until he is fifteen protect him and listen to Shizu-chan. You two used to be friends so I hope you can cooperate somehow from now on."

The Valkyrie nodded.

Izaya smiled. His son's family was complete, comprised of two inhumanly strong monsters. It should have been enough to assure his survival. And it suited Izaya's newfound appreciation of beasts over humans.

Shizuo looked at the Valkyrie suspiciously even as she approached him with the clear intention of following him around.

"You should probably go and take care of him now like you promised, Shizu-chan." Izaya motioned towards the door with his hand, leaning back onto the couch and closing his eyes. "I'll drop by for a visit someday."

"Heh... So you care about him in a way, I guess, what with giving him this thing." Shizuo observed, motioning to the Valkyrie. "You haven't even asked how we named him, though." He pointed out, heading towards the door. The Valkyrie followed him dutifully.

"Sure, do tell me."

"Actually, Kasuka couldn't think of anything appropriate and I'm really not so good with kanji so I put in that name you had suggested." Shizuo explained.

"I suggested something to you?" It seemed Iskusitelĭ had left him another gift behind. It had been so precarious to have confronted himself. Even as he had promised Iskusitelĭ that he was going to be forgotten, the sneaky bastard had actually managed to name his son.

Izaya could hear him laughing even as he was no longer there.

"Shizu-chan, and what have I suggested?"

Shizuo looked back at him as if he had lost his mind. Which was the case anyway.

He retrieved a crumpled up piece of paper from his pocket and came back to put it on the coffee table next to Izaya before turning around to leave the office.

"See you around, Kadota-kun." He called out before going out, followed by the Valkyrie.

"You really don't remember what name you gave him, Izaya-kun?" Kadota asked.

"Sad, isn't it?" Izaya responded, reaching out for the piece of paper.

'巳寅 [みとら]'

"Snake Tiger?" Kadota read it over his shoulder.

"Mitra. Major god of three religions. God of the Sun, contracts, friendship, truth and warriors. One of the judges at the Bridge of Separation. The Third Messenger. Sol Invictus. Unconquered Sun."

Kadota looked at him, rather dumbfounded.

"You know, Dotachin, even though I don't remember coming up with that name, it has quite a bit of my personal touch."

* * *

Mitra in Japanese is ミトラ (spelled Mitora, みとら in hiragana), Mithra is ミスラ (Misura)


	22. Chapter 22

"It's strange that we've never met in person so far, Kida-senpai, and we obviously know each other already in a way, but we might as well introduce ourselves properly." Aoba said upon reaching the table at the back of Russia Sushi where Mikado, Kida, Anri and Kadota were already seated. "Kuronuma Aoba." He bowed down in greeting.

"Kida Masaomi." Kida replied reluctantly without getting up, eyeing the blue scarf wrapped tightly around Aoba's neck. It struck him as some kind of a pun even though Mikado had relayed to him all that he knew about Aoba, including the fact that he'd been knifed in the neck recently.

"This is Kadota-san." Mikado made the introduction.

"We've met already." Aoba dismissed it.

Kadota nodded in acknowledgment. He wasn't particularly happy to be present at a meeting like that but he decided to take part in the end after Kida had requested his assistance.

Aoba slid into the last free seat with a polite smile.

It was indeed quite puzzling how Aoba and Kida had managed to avoid direct contact with each other so far, what with both being good friends of Mikado and Anri, although Kida seriously doubted the sincerity of that friendship on Aoba's part and he had to admit that he'd kept his distance from his two friends for more than a year for various reasons, but also with Aoba hanging out with Izaya at the same time Kida had been working for him.

It probably had something to do with their mutual dislike for each other that Kida wasn't willing to call hate only because he didn't want to admit to having such strong negative feelings towards someone he'd never even met. But was that really necessary with Aoba being the creator of a rival gang, the leader of said gang at the time when it had ruined Yellow Scarves, brother of Izumii Ran, a little demon making Mikado stray from the right path and trying to take over Kida's place in everyone's lives and on top of that, Orihara Izaya's boyfriend?

"How's your neck, Aoba-kun?" Mikado asked with concern that sounded way too genuine for Kida's taste.

"It's better." Aoba replied with a reassuring smile.

"I'm glad." Anri said in a small voice.

"It's the lack of a hand that bothers me more now." Aoba admitted.

Their order was brought to the table but besides taking a few sips of tea, nobody seemed eager to eat.

"I know you hate everything I stand for, Kida-senpai." Aoba observed, his smile unwavering in a way that seriously creeped Kida out. It seemed Mikado needed to rethink his taste in friends, Kida decided. "In fact, all of us here have our differences. But I came here today because I'd like us to work together towards a common goal."

"We understand that, Aoba-kun." Mikado assured him in a serious voice.

"The tank incident a month ago is considered a terrorist attack by the officials, right?" Aoba pointed out. "They will stop at nothing in order to find those who have been responsible for it because it made it into the world news and a lot of people ended up dying. It has been performed with a tank that has been in someone's possession illegally, especially since it has been armed with machine guns. The next evening two Russians, a woman and a man, who have been somehow connected to the illegal arms trade, have been murdered. The incident has been worked into the gang wars in Ikebukuro with the tank being painted yellow and appearing at a location Blue Squares members were lured to. Even though these weren't really Blue Squares anymore, right, Mikado-senpai?" Aoba gave Mikado a sharp look. "Because you have dissolved the Blue Squares into Dollars completely once I was gone because of my injury. You don't have to say anything, Mikado-senpai. Much less that you're sorry. All is fair in love and war, after all. All three of you, Mikado-senpai, Kida-senpai and Anri-senpai, have been recorded on video at the scene. The officials aren't sure yet about the identity of the direct perpetrators even though we know, and yes, *I* know that too, that Kida-senpai was inside that tank."

"How?!"

"But since he hasn't been arrested yet, it seems the police doesn't have good enough proof of that, yet. Though they must have noticed Kida-senpai appeared at the scene right when the smokescreen cleared." Aoba observed. "Not to mention somebody from the Yellow Scarves must have already informed them about him being their leader because that's just what happens when the police starts asking around random members of a street gang, right? I'd dare a guess their problems come from the fact that there is absolutely no evidence of the Yellow Scarves having acquired that tank in any way. And that's because Orihara-san has put you inside it, right, Kida-senpai? And you honestly don't know where it's come from."

"I won't confess, if that's what you mean to make me do." Kida declared. He wasn't going to turn himself in as a terrorist, no matter what the little creep might have threatened him with.

"The fact is..." Aoba was smiling self-assuredly as if he was somehow smarter than anyone else at the table which irked Kida to no end. "...before Orihara-san did that, he made me and my gang put that tank back together from the parts he's acquired." He confessed. "In fact we both know that it was him who has arranged this incident, Kida-senpai, and combined, we do have the evidence to prove it."

"I don't believe this bullshit." Kida protested. "It's just some further plot of his to make me go to the police and confess. You're his little pet after all. He sent you here!"

"Do I need to remind you that you worked for him for a year and a half yourself, Kida-senpai?" Aoba pointed out politely. "Mikado-senpai can assure you though that I'm nowhere near as stupid as to become his mindless pawn. Unlike some other people actually, but that's besides the point." He smiled pleasantly. "I have a personal grudge against him as well." All of a sudden, Aoba got serious. "Since he was the person who nearly killed me and cut off my hand."

A mildly shocked silence followed.

"Why haven't you gone to the police then?" Kida asked. 

"Because he did this to me to steal the tank the Blue Squares have rebuilt. The very same tank that was used in the attack a few weeks later. Blue Squares are considered victims of it so far." Aoba explained. "Nobody has tried blaming us for it. And I decided I couldn't risk my gang starting to be considered perpetrators instead with how the evidence of us having worked on that tank would have surfaced if I started talking without making sure first the only person who was going to pay was going to be Orihara-san."

"But Mikado never said anything..." Kida hesitated turning to look sideways at Mikado, sudden unease overwhelming him.

"I've never known about that." Mikado shook his head.

"That's because I kept it a secret from you." Aoba admitted good-naturedly. "Mikado-senpai, I'm sorry about having kept this tank a secret from you all this time, too. But it was something I knew you wouldn't have condoned even though I had my plans for it. They were ruined by Izaya taking it away, though." He sighed. "I know what you all must be thinking. That I was probably planning something similar anyway and I would have ended up doing it if Izaya didn't put me in the hospital and stole this tank from me. You are most likely right, too." He confessed rather shamelessly. "Though it would have taken me a way longer time than him to get in contact with the right people to get it into the working condition. But it doesn't matter anymore, anyway. I will have to explain to the police somehow why I have decided to try rebuilding this tank in the first place when Izaya has given me the parts and I won't probably come out of that innocent, if that makes you feel better. Still, it's more important for me that Izaya gets punished for everything. I have very solid proof of that tank being rebuilt by us, both eyewitnesses and a lot of photos. It was also painted blue previously and there must be some traces of that left. He has also tried to kill me with his switchblade and I know he's fond of it so I bet he's still carrying it around. And also, Kida-senpai, have you seen the photos on the counter here? These two Russians who were murdered the night after the incident, aren't these the people who have been inside the tank with you? It can't be a coincidence that they were killed the very next day. I hope the police will be able to trace their death back to Izaya as well. I do need you to confess, Kida-senpai. And you as well, Mikado-senpai, since you must have seen Kida-senpai get out of that tank first hand and were probably close enough to see the Russians yourself as well but I have given it a lot of thought and I assure you nothing bad will come out of that for you."

"We will go to the police with you, Aoba-kun." Mikado nodded after a moment of thought.

"I haven't made up my mind yet, Mikado." Kida protested.

"We will, Kida-kun." Mikado insisted. "Because you risk getting arrested otherwise for causing everything."

Aoba nodded.

"Izaya may be already working on coming up with evidence of that." He pointed out.

"And you think once we all confess he will get arrested and punished? Well, I have to disappoint you, guys." Kida said. "He will know beforehand and he will be gone before the police thinks of getting a hold of him, any evidence that might be there of him having bought that tank or hired someone to rebuild it gone with him."

"Maybe if you give this to the police now, he won't be able to make it." Kadota put an access card down on the table.

"You have the access card to his office, Kadota-san?" Kida instantly recognized it for what it was. He used to own one as well but Izaya had taken it away from him before placing him in that tank.

"I've been taking care of him lately." Kadota admitted.

"Because of that... insanity of his?" Aoba asked reluctantly.

Kadota nodded.

"He won't go to prison anyway." Kida pointed out. "He has already made sure of that."

"Is a high-security mental hospital that much better though?" Aoba asked with a sweet smile.

"I don't even care." Kida shrugged. "I just wish that bastard would finally disappear."

"Uhm... I realize you mean to do this for vengeance, Aoba-kun, Kida-kun..." Mikado spoke up, looking down at the table intently. "...but I think there are objective reasons to want to turn him in. Since so many people ended up dying. Dollars members, Blue Squares members and also totally innocent people..."

Anri looked at Mikado sympathetically.

"...and also, we need to protect Anri-chan because she's been seen there too with Saika and if the perpetrator isn't found soon, the police will start prying into everyone's lives."

Aoba pocketed the card before Kadota could change his mind.

They left their table without anyone taking a single bite of food.

"Sushi not good?" Simon asked with a sad expression.

"We had a lot on our minds, Simon." Kida explained, forcing himself to smile reassuringly. "But once all of this is over, we'll come over to celebrate and not a single piece will be left uneaten then, promise!"

Once outside, Aoba took out the access card to have a look at it and thought how all of this was coming together too perfectly.

It was either a trap of some kind which wouldn't have dissuaded him from trying anyway or Izaya wanted to get caught and he was using him to achieve as much. Maybe that was why he had needed him in the first place. Otherwise why make him trust him, then nearly kill him, cut off his hand and then save him in the end, if not to set him on the path to this. After all, Izaya could have taken his tank back without hurting him at all and had even told him as much. He'd taken Aoba to watch the tank incident, too, giving him all this information. He'd told him to defeat him, actually.

He was Izaya's pawn after all, Aoba realized with a smile, still rather liking the role he'd been given - that of the one to bring him down.


	23. Chapter 23

"Have you finally come for me?" Izaya asked, staring at the lights of nighttime Shinjuku through the panoramic window from behind his desk, his hand stroking Venceslav's head idly. It was very quiet again. He'd turned off the computers and listened in for the footsteps of the single person other than himself left in the silence of his mind. "I appreciate you having waited for me to take care of everything."

"I like it that we have a child." Psyche stated from behind his back.

Izaya was reluctant to turn around with his chair and face his blood-drenched figure.

Therefore, he was pleasantly surprised when Psyche turned out to be looking normal again, his white clothes clean and impeccable like fresh snow and magenta eyes wide with childlike curiosity.

There was the open switchblade in his hand though disrupting the charming sight.

"Why have you killed the old me and the others?" Izaya asked him.

"Why have you killed Iskusitelĭ?" And Psyche asked him back.

"He was something I didn't want to be." Izaya answered for them both. "I guess you have the same feeling for myself, though?" He pointed out, leaning back into his chair comfortably, falling into the fluffy mass of clothes he was covered with. "I've never bothered talking to you, Psyche, but since it's only the two of us left now and you're going to put an end to me, what are you? You're so much unlike the rest of us and I remember you being there for years..."

"Since second grade of elementary school." Psyche specified.

"And? What happened then?" Izaya asked, taking out a vanilla flavored cigarette and lighting it up.

"We dared this kid from our class who was mocking us in front of everyone to walk around the edge of the school building's rooftop even though we knew he was afraid of heights."

"Seriously?" Izaya smiled. "And what happened?"

Honestly, he couldn't even remember among the countless instances of daring, deceiving, manipulating, blackmailing and otherwise giving people the small push in the wrong direction.

"He tried to do that but he must have been sick, he swayed and fell down and died on the spot." Psyche answered with unusual seriousness on his face. He was so painfully easy to read.

"It was our first victim then?"

Psyche nodded.

"You must be quite repulsed that I don't even remember." Izaya pointed out indifferently, taking a deep drag of the scented cigarette smoke. "Have you kept count of how many people died because of us then, Psyche? Dozens? Or has it turned into hundreds now? I remember counting the users of that suicide forum of mine who have successfully moved on to the other side but I would have to check that number. Not like it was a crucial piece of information for me to remember." Izaya shrugged.

"I lost the count a long time ago." Psyche admitted.

"Why do you think I have chosen you over Iskusitelĭ?" Izaya asked.

"Maybe you want to be back."

"Back to what?"

"Back to that moment before you made anyone die."

Izaya crushed the cigarette on the desk's surface, not caring about it getting damaged. He didn't feel like smoking ever again.

"But I don't care about such things, Psyche. I can still claim I don't kill people with my own hands since I've saved Kuronuma. And that's enough for me. All the others were victims of certain circumstances. And even if I have arranged those, in the end I can't be blamed for someone else's actions."

Izaya jumped over the desk in one fluid motion, retrieving his switchblade from his pocket.

"I'm back, Psyche-chan~"

Psyche shuddered upon recognizing that smile. How come? Even though he had already slaughtered the old Izaya once. The other two appeared around him, likewise unscathed.

"It was so mean of you little moe moe part of us to hurt us like that." Kanra cooed.

"It's because that sentimental fool only wanted control for the time it took to ensure his child's safety." Nakura pointed out. "He rooted for you. More so than for us. But now he's gone."

Psyche died quietly, slaughtered efficiently with a quick swipe of the knife slicing his throat, the fountain of blood that escaped it a strangely eerie and beautiful sight.

It was good to be back in control, Izaya thought, prying off the thick layers of clothing restricting his movement.

It was at that moment that the door of his office opened and he looked up, dumbfounded, at the masked and heavily armed SAT officers bursting inside, submachine guns pointed at his head.

"Drop the knife and put your hands up." The command was growled out from behind a mask.

Izaya obliged begrudgingly, dropping the switchblade he had taken out without thinking.

"Kick the knife away."

He did. It was snatched from the floor by a gloved hand of a police detective who had just entered the room and sealed inside a plastic bag.

"Is that him?"

His psychiatrist followed the policeman inside and nodded upon seeing him. "Please don't upset him."

"I'm just doing my job. Orihara Izaya, you are arrested under charges of terrorism, attempted murder and illegal arms possession. A search of your person and this place will be conducted now under the according search warrants."

His crazy self had apparently kept the promise to destroy him even as it was no longer there.

Venceslav stared uncomprehending at the scene that followed, howling when Izaya was led away.


	24. Chapter 24

It was the first time in five years Izaya was allowed to go on the Internet.

Due to the nature of the charges he'd been convicted for both his Internet access and visits and phone calls other than by immediate family had been reduced to none.

His parents came by once a year even though they'd needed to change their name and move away to avoid being linked back to him. They did not allow his sisters to visit. Thus his life had been fully contained within the walls of the prison.

The intern by his side smiled knowingly noting how the first thing he did was check out the results of the search for his own name. Granted, there was nothing there he didn't know but he would have rather not had all this detailed information about himself displayed like that for everyone to see. It seemed it was part of the package of being a famous convicted terrorist, though. The list of atrocious acts other people had since committed with his name on their lips amused him for a moment but he stopped reading it halfway through.

"Ten more minutes." The intern informed him, glancing at the clock.

Not quite enough time to do anything fun, especially with the intern staring at the screen over his shoulder. The old chat rooms must have been abandoned by now anyway or populated with people he didn't know and netspeak he wouldn't get.

He wasn't sure what prompted him to search for his son's name. Heiwajima. He hesitated upon typing that. It was such a bad case of irony that he'd made Shizu-chan of all people raise his kid. He wondered briefly if it was even still alive, if Shizuo had managed to restrain himself from killing it in one of the outbursts of his blind rage.

Izaya had never seen a single photo of his kid. His family wasn't aware of its existence and he had no legal ties to it left to make it anyone's obligation to keep him informed. Not that he was particularly interested. The only thing he wondered about at times was what the boy was going to do with the Valkyrie when he became older.

Izaya found him in a photo of a group of first grade elementary schoolers starting school that year, the cute uniform and all.

"Five minutes. Orihara-san, what are you looking at?" The intern asked.

"I've heard someone from my family has had a kid a few years ago."

"Ah."

The photo was fairly good quality and Izaya zoomed in to take a closer look at the boy's face. He had a sudden urge to find out if the kid had red eyes like him to complement the striking similarity to how he'd looked his age thanks to which he'd identified him.

Izaya smiled realizing what a predicament Shizuo had landed himself into by agreeing to father something that looked like a cute little replica of the person he hated the most. There was a moment right before his son's birth when they were pretty civil around each other but that had been before Shizuo got to know what he'd done. It might have been years since they had last seen each other but he was sure of Shizuo's hate. After all, there was no way for Shizuo to forget him and he was never going to forgive him causing deaths of so many people, either.

It seemed there were more photos of his son at a closed off social networking website of some kind. Izaya was quick to register there using the remaining time and sent out a friend request to Shizuo if only for the heck of it.

He was going to check for the reply on his time online next week, he thought as he was being escorted back to his cell by the guards. At least it was something to look forward to in the constant fight for survival life at a high-security prison was.

Sometimes he wished his insanity defense would have held up in court and landed him in a mental hospital instead if only for the added quirkiness of inmates.

Either way, it was only fifteen years more.

His fellow beloved humans outside were going to wait for him.

END

* * *

A/N: The sequel is called 'The Unconquered Sun'.


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